Die Romantic
by crash. a f t e r g l o w
Summary: “If I never met you, I wouldn't like you. If I didn't like you, I wouldn't love you. If I didn't love you, I wouldn't miss you. But I did, I do, & I will.” [Excitement, tragedy, action & romance. Original characters & plot.] My first fanfiction. :]
1. You're Running After Something That

ஐ ▪ **D i e . R o m a n t i c _▪ _**ஐ  
_This Is The Nightmare We Die Complete  
_-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦ _author's note_ ◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦  
This is my first story on fanfiction (Y). The first three chapters are unlike most Pokémon stories, so for a more traditional feel, you'll need to read on until at least chapter four. This is just me telling you not to give up on me if you find these first few chapters boring. ;)  
_Chapters will be long. I won't change that. _**Character history will be developed in the next chapter, including why the characters have such… erm… you'll see if you read. They're not morphs though. Stay tuned to find out who they really are. **& this is dedicated to the beautiful Just-Another-Meaningless-Soul. _**xx **_Reviews are welcome _whatever the weather_. -smile-

◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦ _disclaimer_ ◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦  
I grudgingly admit Pokémon is not my creation. The song "Die Romantic" is owned by the band Aiden ((_character reference!_)), & "Thank You For The Venom" belongs to My Chemical Romance. I'm just a failure, aren't I? xP

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**_C_hapter _o_o1:  
_You're Running After Something That You'll Never Kill  
_**_If this is what you want then fire at will…_

He snatched up her hand instinctively when the soft padding of paws on the tarnished ground quickened to a thunderous pace. Plumes of dry earth spiralled frantically from the hasty movements, shielding all that remained faithful to the landscape, until more humans and Pokémon alike bounded upon the scene and crashed fearlessly into such veils, scattering the fragmented pieces of the children's last defence.

The hollow of the tree trunk arched low inside, creating a squat chamber for hiding within, floored and canopied by tough wooden knots. Aiden was hunched over, uncomfortably numb, back following the smooth curve the trunk made. The way his eyes were scrunched closed suggested his lack of desire to ever open them again; his lack of desire to see the destruction and sense the pain he had that day. Natural black locks plastered themselves to his damp forehead for the earlier trials had already left him perspiring. At fifteen years, Aiden stood taller than his comrades, and although not the oldest he was often the most respected by the younger children. His breath echoed emptily in the void that filled his thoughts, sending his body into nervous convulsions whenever the seriousness of the situation constricted his mind. Of course he was trained to deal with such a responsibility, but never had he expected it. No one had for seventeen years. But suddenly everyone and everything that ever mattered to him had its gaze fixed on him and six others, three too small to defend even themselves. He tried to use the fear to motivate himself, but all it did was haunt him with words hinting he wasn't good enough.

The pressure towered above them all, the pulse of their hearts louder than the drone of limitless feet and paws racing to meet them. Aiden swallowed hard, reminding himself he hadn't tasted clean water in twenty-eight hours. Momentarily he swooned, dizziness overpowering him, before his back collided with the side of the trunk once more, supporting him in his struggle. If only the numbness had died, his tongue would feel swollen. His flesh would feel bruised and cut. His surrender would feel somewhat heavenly.

He wanted to give in. It meant death, but throughout his battle the prospect became more and more welcome. Now was the time he felt most vulnerable, so now was the time he decided he could finally let go.

He didn't dare think about it twice. It might have resulted in him clinging on to life. So with no last words, his senses disengaged.

He lost the will to live.

He urged every muscle in his body to relax, to rest, to admit defeat. Slowly, beneath heavy eyelids his eyes rolled back, his mouth hung open and his lungs began to slow. The steady metronome of his heart wavered, almost faltered, when his constructed demise was abruptly disturbed.

The nerves in his hand flourished once more. Wearily, his light brown eyes flickered open as he glanced down suspiciously at his fingers, tracing the form of the entwined hand up to the arm and finally the face. The light that he had thought to have lost glimmered briefly upon merging his gaze with hers.

Loyal as ever, she still clung to him. Her hand squeezed his tighter now, for she realised Aiden's wishes to give in. Her lip trembled before she steadied herself, dark eyes pleading.

One of his best friends stood before him, begging him silently not to be so easily deceived by the concept of death. He blinked naturally once, but found himself blinking more and more as tears suddenly began to fall, pattering softly on his sleeve. He looked at her through a veil of emotion, and watched as she shook her head and gave him a small, grim smile. "Please," she whispered, "we need you Aiden…"

"Leila," he started quietly, but choked on his own words as his voice broke. His bit his lip and hung his head bitterly, causing Leila to utter a small whimper and envelope him in her arms. Her cloak hung limply around her battered figure, and her face was smudged with grime but she could never have been as dirty as the lies they had been fed for all those years.

Leila, only two months older than Aiden, barely reached the height of Aiden's chin, but size wasn't something to separate the pair. Aiden nuzzled his forehead into her shoulder crook, breathing in the scent of her blonde hair. Aiden's tears fell onto her cloak, and with every one he counted he wished only the best for them – as if magically they could all be transported out of this danger. But he knew better. Nowhere was safe now.

Aiden held on to her for fear of being separated. As one of the people that had kept his life glued together and filled with adventure, he couldn't bear losing her. Three years had passed since they both graduated from their basic village schooling, and those three years had been filled with him longing for her embrace, and the day when he could finally tell her how much she meant to him; how much he thought he loved her. He had lived in cowardice for too long, and although this might've been his last day he couldn't pull together any words that might've even made any sense, let alone make her aware of her importance. All he could do was savour the moment, and hope against all odds that this wasn't the final day he'd have to be with her.

Four-year-old Raven was hopelessly clutching Leila's back, her small sobs muffled in Leila's hair. Her tiny fists clenched round the material Leila wore, she climbed further up and switched positions to sit upon Aiden's shoulders and mourn into his nest of hair instead.

Another set of arms cradled the others. Oldest of them all, at seventeen years old, Noel approached them sorrowfully, but with hard set blue eyes determined not to cry. A small collection of scars littered his left cheek, but he pretended they didn't bother him, and wore them proudly as though they were medals. The six year old that hadn't yet lessened her grip on his forearm, Lydia, stared up at her elders questioningly with huge eyes and a lopsided frown. "Why do you cry?" she wondered helplessly, "Why do you cry when we are so much luckier than the others?"

Leila gasped slightly before holding her breath, releasing her grip on Aiden's shoulders and scooping up little Lydia who immediately began twisting Leila's hair into wonderful shapes.

"Sadly, she's right though," added Sid matter-of-factly. The last male of the group was only twelve years old, old enough to defend himself but still young enough to be arrogant and almost act uneducated at times. His small, shallow grey eyes scanned the situation disapprovingly, and he hoisted a small girl, Brooke, over his shoulders where she could sleep more comfortably.

"Be quiet Sid!" Leila snapped, hugging Lydia tightly. "You see what's happened to those around us and you think it's not enough to be sad about? You're just heartless."

"No Leila, it's not that. It's the fact that instead of whining about how we hate the predicament we're in we should actually try and make it better. Jeez…" he replied, venom laced in his voice.

"Guys…" Noel warned, but the argument raged on.

"Oh! So you have some genius plan do you? If I remember correctly it was you who told us we'd be safe in the forest! Well guess what? We walked straight into their trap!" Leila hissed, voicing rising with anger.

"Guys!" Noel said, clearer and a little more urgently.

"You want me to cry 'cause that'll make me human, but I can't make mistakes? Oh wow. That's real nice of you, honey. Not hypocritical in the least!" Sid shouted back.

"Guys!" Noel practically screamed, but it was too late.

Soft sniffing noises could be heard through the walls of their makeshift chamber. All fell silent, and faces paled. Lydia's nails dug into Leila's neck.

"Nine, canine!" they heard a Pokémon bark, and then a rush of human voices.

"They're in there!" wheezed one voice, when the trunk rocked dangerously. Those contained within held their breath.

"Go Aggron!" another commanded, voice powerful but noticeably feminine, and even from their dark confinement the children could sense the flash of pearly light. A low roar reverberated around them, causing the ground to shake and their bodies to shake harder.

Suddenly, light spilled in from a crack, torn cleanly. A steel-plated, reptilian head appeared, eyes closed, before two claws struck the wooden roof and ripped it apart. Raven hurled her head back and screamed sharply, as men and women all gathered around the Aggron. Aiden panicked briefly as his comrades' eyes settled on him, so hurriedly he pressed a clammy palm onto Raven's lips, softening the shriek until it vanished altogether. Fortunately the din of wood crashing to the ground and being trodden on by the Aggron was loud enough for those outside to preoccupy them from the shrieking inside the trunk.

Sluggishly, the sun had hoisted its exhausted body over them all, casting elongated shadows onto the harsh terrain. Slow, daunting footsteps caused the ground to throb in uncertainty as silhouettes followed the shadows' lead, promoting rivalry even where the light couldn't reach. Sid clenched his fists as colour gradually graced his slim face.

An incredible daiquiri of colour dithered in the sky. Wrathful reds, melancholic blues, venomous purples and all other colours within the earthly spectrum churned and glinted in the eyes of the children. Noel, Sid and Leila took several dainty steps backwards until they too were pressed against the wall of the trunk and shrouded in shadow. The darkness that screened them differed from the darkness that hid their predators' faces however, for each child knew that it was the opposing force that was shaded in the small humiliation that they called loss. Somehow they were going to win. Or decades of demanding work would all be in vain.

"Ma'am, I've just received confirmation that both ends of the fallen tree have been blocked by three members on each side, so if-" a young voice reported as another silhouette appeared.

"Shush Pablo!" the same woman that had sent out the Aggron demanded. He gulped and immediately closed his mouth allowing the woman to speak more softly. "They're in there…"

A silence dappled only by the uneven breathing of the children, covered conveniently by the low grunting of the Aggron and the continuous panting of the Arcanine, was discomfort enough as the tension mounted higher. Aiden tried to focus on who he thought to be woman figure, but the bad lighting was of no advantage to him in this case. The air was thick with dread, knowing that if they didn't survive now there was no hope for any of their families.

Noel's eyes searched frenziedly left and right for an escape route, but true to Pablo's words more human-shaped shadows laced the exits. As if finding no other way to assist his situation, with shaking hands he tugged off his gloves, bent over to replace them in his boots as he had no pockets, and rubbed his palms together. Lydia gave a slight snivel at the sight of this, but Raven and the now awake Brooke could only watch in bewilderment, not knowing what would come after what seemed like such a calm series of actions.

Aiden finally removed his hands from Raven's mouth trusting her not to yell out. As Leila and Sid both detached the smaller children Aiden pulled off his own gloves and stuffed them in his pockets, before spitting upon his own hands and rubbing it into the wounds that adorned them.

Leila was a little more hesitant, but removed hers before allowing a tear to silently dance down her cheek. She held the gloves in her hands and stared down at them longingly, as if urging them to jump back on to her hands, before Aiden noticed and gently pulled them out of his grasp, smiling bleakly as they too went into his pocket. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words could be voiced, so her arms once more wrapped themselves around his stomach. Far beneath her arms he felt his insides knot themselves around each other. If reality had allowed it his heart would have beat faster.

Sid was far less considerate to the consequences of his actions. He ripped the gloves off with his teeth and tossed them aside mercilessly. He tightened and loosened his fists, causing the bones to crack.

A bitter wind picked up, draining the last blemishes of relief. Aggron raised its jaws to the sky and roared menacingly, only as brutal to the ears as undoubtedly brutal the way it could create carnage. The children reluctantly shivered, slowly becoming further encased in mere terror. Leila had turned away from Aiden with her hands firmly pressed against her mouth, stifling the wailing she longed to release.

"Right," Noel addressed the group whilst wrapping his cloak around more tightly, "we're up against an Aggron and an Arcanine from what we can tell so far. That's steel, rock and fire types? Alright, primarily ground attacks, but if they prove too difficult a water assault or two won't go amiss. Of course, this is only if we need to attack. We don't need to go taking any lives unless there's no other way, do we?" At this Leila bit down harshly on her fist, barely muting the soft cry. Noel looked apologetically at her, but continued. "The only question is how we approach this. Do we head straight out the hole in the trunk? Or escape either left or right where three guards will be sent to stop us either way? I don't know so… vote? All those for-"

A threatening crackle quickly disrupted the conversation, sending the smaller children into a flurry of alarm. Noel, Leila and Aiden spun around slowly as they had been taught to, attempting to show determination before what could be the final fight.

Only an enemy did not cause the noise.

Sid stood before them all, almost in plain view to those nearer the opening in the trunk. His two hands were outstretched in front of him, trembling, and with every shudder he suppressed his hands darkened maliciously, becoming charred through the efforts and troubles a twelve year old should not have to suffer. Aiden looked down at his own, open wounds still freely bleeding and puce-coloured flesh turning grey under the astound half-light.

"Sid, what are you doing?" Noel hissed angrily, refusing to advance upon Sid for fear of being seen.

In the open palm of Sid's left hand an orb of astounding hue set to an arctic temperature has being conjured, near shattering, rolling melodiously, almost stunningly albeit for the blackening skin that endured such torture beneath it. His right hand contrasted. His fingers had crushed themselves into a rigid fist, positively glowing with might and sending static waves darting up his forearm, sizzling violently.

"Trust me," he reassured through gritted teeth, "shut up a minute… listen to them… They're gonna attack us… if we don't… first." Then quietly, almost distraughtly, he added, "They're gonna attack us if…_ I _don't first."

Brooke, Raven and Lydia had found comfort in each other's arms, scared for not only their future, but also everyone else's that they cared for. Upon seeing Sid focusing all this energy, Noel shepherded the small girls nearer him in case the worst happened.

Leila took three brisk paces forward before stopping herself from reaching the light. Pressing her ear against the cold wood of the trunk, voices were barely audible but existent.

"But Ma'am," Pablo was arguing intensely, "Doctor Gabor has set the task, and Doctor Rein will soon be here to check up on the mission. The troops were given strict ord-"

"Silence Pablo! I think you'll find the troops are under _my_ orders, and I shall be doing things the way I want. Oh dear Pablo, you'd have to be a fool to disagree, would you not? You haven't even dared to ask of what my glorious plan is…"

"Ma'am I must object! I-"

Leila pulled away from the trunk's wall. "They will attack," she murmured, "but they are having trouble deciding who is the higher force, and how to attack, or whatever else." Leila sighed, as the balls of energy in the hands of Sid enlarged reasonably. Sid grimaced. Leila looked at Sid sadly and added, "If it's a case of survival, then Sid's doing the right thing… I don't want to do it… but if we were to survive…" She pursed her lips and pressed her ear against the trunk once more.

"You always did act upon impulse, didn't you?" Noel commented upon Sid's behaviour, but not angrily. His tone was strangely loving, almost fatherly.

Sid grunted as his wrists began to char. "I... just do… what I think is… right…" he mumbled, unable to keep his words stringed together.

Sympathetically, Noel nodded. "Yeah I know. You always had the best interests at heart. Sorry… if it ever seemed like I didn't understand that…"

Sid closed his eyes, and for a moment no one could recognise if he was concentrating hard, or holding back tears. "That's alright", he said, rather monotonically, and his eyes snapped open, as the grey in his eyes glinted like steel, showing the well known determination he had that could never die down.

"Alright then…" added Noel, "Everyone concentrate. This could possibly be the hardest battle we've faced so far. There's so much at risk; we can't bear to lose. We could live to die another day… or this could be our final battle…"

Aiden's eyes met Noel's. "A final battle? Seriously now, would that really be so bad? All we do is fight. How is this life made for us?"

Noel stared at him, silent and stoic. Leila removed her ear from the walls, looking shocked. She forced her eyes to switch positions to focus upon Aiden, then Noel, and then Aiden again. But nothing could have tasted as sour as the words that casually dripped out from Aiden's mouth. Finally, her knees buckled.

Aiden saw this, and bent down to meet her. Finding the depression he had caused deep in her eyes, he lifted her up, whispering, "Don't be like that now… Just ignore me… I don't know what I'm saying… It's just… hard… I know it, you know it… and… I just don't like it…"

Leila kissed him fondly on the cheek, provoking a blush to surface. "I know, Aiden… I know…"

The noise level had dropped suddenly, as the crackling from Sid's hands halted. Everyone's eyes averted to the power that lay there.

"How… long do you think it'll… take my hands… to heal?" Sid grunted. Both hands and wrists were tense shades of black and grey, but what he held in his hands could have easily been mistaken for the sun and the moon settled high above the world. He had worked hard, and now wanted to know how much time he had to sacrifice.

"I think…" Noel pondered, "I think if they were to heal properly, no more than two and a half hours. Your skin has always been able to heal quicker as you are younger anyway. But if they follow us… you might have to force yourself to fight Sid. Your powers won't be to their maximum potential and your hands will take longer to heal after the strain… but we can't bear to lose you…" He sighed. "You do know that if you didn't charge for so long your hands would be of a better use after? Why did you charge for so long?"

"I thought that was… obvious," Sid stated, "We need the… best getaway… we can… right? So I'm gonna give… them something to… preoccupy them…"

Noel smiled proudly, "You're sacrificing for us. Your family will be proud, Sid. They will reward you greatly…" He paused momentarily, and continued after some thought. "You sure you want to do this?"

Sid nodded solemnly. "Just say when… alright?"

"Okay," Noel answered, and turned to Aiden and Leila. "Pick up one of the little ones, and run for the north, back to the village. We'll get the survivors to help. If you are ambushed, don't be afraid to attack, and try to get in contact with another one of us. But remember, we're here to live. Only hurt them if you absolutely have to…"

"Use a Sand-Attack," Sid interjected, "but make it a… big one… so it actually does damage… y'know… It's a ground type… move, powerful against… rock, steel… and fire, and… will create a nice… camouflage…"

Noel looked at Sid sceptically for a moment, before smiling weakly. "Sounds good… Right, we know what we're doing?"

"Yes Sir," Aiden agreed with a half-smile, and pulled Leila over to the three cowering girls. Lydia immediately spread her arms for Leila to pick her up, and Raven had latched herself onto Noel's leg, which left Aiden to carry Brooke. She wrapped her legs around Aiden's torso and her arms wrapped themselves around Aiden's neck so tightly he convulsed once more and feared he'd pass out in the time of great need.

Noel removed Raven from his leg and placed her over his shoulder. "Are we ready?" he asked quietly, and almost fearfully.

Breathing in deeply the air from the forest that might not have ever been tasted again, Leila and Aiden, hands united once more, nodded.

"Okay then," Noel said, and turned to Sid who had fallen to his knees trying to control the power he held. "Sid?"

"Yeah?" Sid gasped in response.

"Fire at will."

The orbs pulsated angrily, fighting harshly with Sid's willpower to break free. They wouldn't have to wait much longer though. A drop of sweat plummeted from the stress lines that creased his face as he recovered the last dregs of his stamina.

_Three._

Sid's eyes were open, and wide, absorbing the light and cherishing the power in his hands, whilst fearing it also. His wounds would take time to heal, but he could take it. He was always annoyed when his older siblings told him he was useless, or that he'd never amount to anything. He was determined to prove them wrong.

_Two._

His brain couldn't take the pressure for much longer. His head throbbed in agony, as light flushed his eyes and all his remaining energy whirred inside and waltzed down to his fingertips. The hardest was still to come. When his mind told him to go, all the force would rush out of his body and onto the field, and still he'd have to keep stable enough to control it.

_One._

The last few moments before he let go. He almost didn't want to. The feelings were ensured to be painful, although it was questionable if he could feel anything at all now. The day had left him changed, and he didn't yet know whether for the better or for the worse. Closing his eyes, he tried to relax himself, as his mind pronounced that final, fateful syllable.

"_Go_!" he screamed vibrantly, but wondered if he had ever said it. The rushing in his ears made him forget everything natural around him for he had to focus on the task. But he was struggling to stand up, leaning on his one foot and shaking violently. The power was above him and he hardly understood how he could have created it.

The others had heard his prompt, and with small girls clutching them helplessly they moved to the hole in the trunk and streamed out to the call of opposing humans and Pokémon.

Following their lead, Sid rolled outside to find that the children had already attracted a lot of attention. Most of the rival trainers and rival Pokémon alike had their eyes fixed on them, some running to catch them alongside their Pokémon, some releasing even more Pokémon. The Arcanine and Aggron stood only feet away from where they previously stood, however, and beside them stood the female figure that owned them.

Obediently, Leila had let loose a large Sand-Attack, which set many into bouts of coughing and wheezing. Some dared not venture any further into it, much like the Arcanine and the Aggron who understandably feared their weakness.

Eyes bloodshot and tired, Sid threw his left hand in the air first, aimed upwards but forward towards the trees, palm open and ball hoisted into the air. His senses were alight, his fingertips were tingling, and with a new rush of fresh air to the lungs he spread his fingers wide, throwing almost every strand of conscious behaviour into the fingers.

At the same time he raised his right hand slowly, still balled into a fist and still glowing dazzlingly. All other thoughts he possessed, he flooded into this hand, ready to strike whenever his fist loosened.

"Aurora beam…" Sid muttered under his breath as to not attract too much attention. The energy escaped from the fingers on his left hand at the very words, and his knees quaked in weariness as he finally stood up, but he could never realise this. Things were far more spectacular airborne.

The ball levitated contentedly in the air for a moment, until Sid's command penetrated its icy core. A gust of cold enclosed within the most beautiful and rich colour sought its target insistently, moving alongside the thoughts that Sid radiated towards it. The emitted beam billowed, and almost concealed the whole battle scene. Many of the rivals could be seen falling to the ground shivering, cold and weary but never dead. The group of trees Sid had aimed for immediately became frosted; bulking in extra weight for its mask of ice was far more than six inches thick, glinting maliciously in the strange lighting. In reply, the Arcanine that fiercely guarded its owner sent a flurry of embers to skip over the barren floor, warming it immensely contrary to their small stature. The woman spun round aggressively, seeking the source of such cold. Spotting Sid, she pointed and yelled at her troops, but it was all too late as Sid released his final hand.

The muscles in his fingers relaxed but his fingertips seared with pain, being the strings to the puppet of electrical catastrophe. "Thunder," Sid grimaced, as the waves of static swiftly became huge surges of electricity. Aurora Beam still active and aimed for the tree, he set his Thunder assault in the same path.

The trees almost seemed to collapse as the attack swivelled through the air, and upon collision the elements slid into each other unmercifully and without grace, creating uproar. Luminous waves of energy swelled angrily, sending the trainers into a state of awe. None issued an attack, for terror or wonder had righteously taken its grasp upon them. Sid strained harder, and the bones in his hands began to creak. A last push ushered a heart-wrenching yell from Sid, startling the woman into calling more commands still. Nonetheless, the troops were paralysed with emotion.

The electricity enveloped the tree, reflecting off the rough surface of the ice to create an illusion of an angelic force, a shaft of amazing light. Cobalt and white oozed from the illusion, sending ripples of colour to casually dance upon the faces of the onlookers and rarely gilding their features delicately. The feud between the ice and electric expanded, and resounding crunching noises echoed as blindingly vivid rays scattered shattered ice and currents of electricity everywhere. Knowing that the woman before him was close enough to him to be safe, his guided the Aurora Beam towards her and her Pokémon, whilst his electrical charge ran dry. Softly, but stricken with fright, her screams echoed through the haze. A mist shrouded the scene, and Sid's arms fell limply to his sides as he lost the will to attack any longer. Silently, he stepped forward, warily.

When vision was better, he looked around pleased at his work but exhausted enough to not be able to value it in its entirety. The trees, cloaked in ice and cracked by lighting, had rained upon the Pokémon, men and women, hitting them hard as they fell from the sky. Most lay unconscious, although a few lay shivering and begging for forgiveness. One or two remained trapped in blocks of ice, but Sid was sure that when they were found fire Pokémon would be given the order to thaw them out, meaning that death would not take them yet.

To his left lay a block of ice, and inside of it a canine Pokémon was still, frozen, its face a disturbing picture of mingled panic and distress. Its lustrous fur was caught in the wind before it had been frozen, so it splayed out wondrously, tousled but glamorous. Beside it was the woman, dishevelled and stunned, frozen only up to her waist with her left arm captivated also but her right arm flailing madly in the air. Sid took three calm paces up to her, and studied her under raised eyebrows.

Noticing his stare, she spat at the floor by his feet. "You're one of them, aren't you?" she asked, shivering, already knowing the answer.

"Wow. You scientists are the clever ones aren't you? Glad to know that people with your understanding will be saving the world from unknown diseases and creating better contraptions to seal away the mightiest of Pokémon. Oh, I feel oh-so-safe…" he replied mockingly, knowing he sounded naïve, and yet unable to smile. Her smirk was enough to discompose him. The sparkle in her eyes suggested it wasn't over yet.

"Well, well. We are a bit of a wit, aren't we? Well hear you me, you and your precious village aren't going to see the dawn unless you change your ways. What do you think about it? Is it worth those precious lives?"

"No thank you," Sid suppressed a fake yawn, "what's life without a bit of a challenge, eh?"

Still smirking, she slowly raised her arm to point a crooked finger at him. "Fine. But believe me, a challenge it shall be. Just keep on your toes, little boy…"

"Yes Ma'am," he saluted sarcastically, and moved towards the cloud of dust that was beginning to fade.

"Seriously little boy," she called, hiding a laugh, "you better watch your back!"

Sid spun round to make a witty remark, but could only stare at the beast that lumbered after him, before sprinting purposefully away in the remains of the sandstorm. The air was thick enough with it to make it harder to see at Sid's height, but not thick enough to hurt.

So the woman's Aggron recklessly rumbled on, growling fearlessly at Sid's small figure.

Running continuously, not being able to see where he was going, he soon met the rock face of Twinspire Peak, stretching for a vast expanse of ground. Horror grasped his throat, squeezing the breath out of him, not allowing him to concentrate fully. Slowly, as taught, he turned round to the cumbersome footsteps of the steel creature, watching as it approached with flame in its eyes. It didn't need a command; it simply raised its heavy, iron fists into the air intending to drop them on its foe. Seeing this, Sid panicked and dived to his left, narrowly missing the giant paw. The Aggron removed it from the earth easily, leaving a titanic dent where it had crashed.

Sid grasped his one hand with the other, ignoring the pain and focusing only on the enlightenment he'd gain from winning this battle. He'd encountered Aron before, and even Lairon, but something of this size was a definite accomplishment for a twelve year old. That enlightenment was inspiration enough, and pumped the adrenaline round, serving as a second heartbeat – another chance to live. Because in the end, that was all he wanted to do. Live.

All inspiration, every drop of physical and mental energy, was transferred into his two combined fists. The Aggron slowly began to raise his too, but Sid knew he had time. He was quivering manically, but this would be the finishing blow. Sid imagined rocks and the cold, hard ground, and all the damage that they could create. His hands tingled in excitement, not pain for although they remained blackened they were still blessed with the incredible motivation the insight of victory provided. As if magnetic, small clods of mud and strangely shaped rocks attached themselves to his fists. Sid smiled briefly, and watched Aggron raise his to the sky, before Sid slammed his painfully into the ground. "Earthquake!" he cried, although quietened by his lack of energy.

A heightened sense of gravity threw Sid to the ground and the dry earth beneath his fists cracked and rumbled and forgotten leaves stirred restlessly. Suddenly, everything shook, first rhythmically, then perilously, and Aggron's eyes widened in its deepest fear. High above, from the rock face, boulders were hurled down, racing to attack the Aggron, and frustrating it by furthering its lack of balance as they smashed into him. Sid lay on the ground, arms covering his head now, eyes closed and wishing for it to end.

Aggron spun dizzily, tumbled, and fell to the ground as unconsciousness rolled over it. It groaned one last time, until its tail fell limp and eyes blinked close.

Pride would have lifted Sid's spirits, and celebration would have occurred in the very back of his mind had he seen, but the mass effort had left him tired. As the boulders fell, they gathered around him and on top of him, burying him.

When the dust cleared, only his head and left arm were visible as he rested beneath them, unmoving…


	2. I'll Be There For You Through It All

ஐ ▪ **D i e . R o m a n t i c **_**▪ **_ஐ  
_This Is The Nightmare We Die Complete  
_-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦ _author's note_ ◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦  
_**Chapter two, for anyone who cares.**_ Once again dedicated to _Just-Another-Meaningless-Soul_. (Y)(Y)

◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦ _replies_ ◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦  
**Just-Another-Meaningless-Soul**; Thank you for such a detailed & considerate review, it really helps build the confidence I need to post. _Gawd knows how nervous I get_. :D Your review really helped give me insight into the viewers' mind & I appreciate that totally. I must disagree however: my description is not _that_ good – recently I took interest in reading Neil Gaiman's books ((if people know the film _Stardust_, it was based around one of his novels)) & I was simply spellbound by the kind of prose he uses. If I ever come round to rewriting this fanfiction, I'll probably try to make it mildly more like his work. (H) As for Sid's well being, I think you'll find out soon enough… ;) Oh, & you've no fault in "taking so long to read it" as it is pretty darn long. xD I don't expect you to speed on by.

**Other Readers**; I hope you're enjoying this so far. It's rather long-winded, & not suitable for those that dislike novels, but to each his own I suppose. If you would care to review, please do so. They help to point out where I'm going right & wrong. If you'd spare a moment to help me, bless you! **Favours are readily returned, of course :)**

◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦ _disclaimer_ ◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦  
For some strange reason I still don't own Pokémon, nor the song "Die Romantic". "Your Guardian Angel" is a song by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus & I know you're insanely jealous. –grin–

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  
_**C**_**hapter **_**o**_**o2:  
**_**I'll Be There For You Through It All  
**__Even if saving you sends me to heaven…  
_

Meanwhile, Aiden could only keep on running, all three small girls in tow. Noel had given strict instructions he was to make it to the village with the young ones, and alert the survivors of the predicament they were in. Panting lightly, he darted in and out of trees, Brooke tied around his neck and the other two scooped up in his arms. Light as the girls were, it was still a burden, and didn't help when Aiden's thoughts were tied to Noel and his courageous leadership, Sid and his willingness to sacrifice, and the only girl there that could actually defend herself. Avoiding the overgrown roots, Aiden ran on, but his head was elsewhere where only worry could rule.

He had left them fighting two trainers that had caught up with them. Each had four Pokémon apiece, eight in total, and four that had been knocked out by the time Aiden had left. He himself had drained the energy from an opposing Quagsire using Giga Drain to compose enough force to reach the village. Of course, the grass-type manoeuvre had skilfully knocked the Quagsire out, siphoning the Pokémon and removing his companions from extra harm. A rather vicious Garchomp had fallen to Leila's own onslaught, whilst Noel had defeated two: a Noctowl and a Torterra. Standing on the field when he left was a Houndoom, Vileplume and Gallade, while a Skarmory sailed aimlessly in the sky.

Together, Leila and Noel had downed the Gallade, but they were beginning to tire. The Skarmory had yet to attack physically, but had sneakily distracted the pair with fatal leers or the frozen glisten of metal in the half-light. Leila glared up at the metallic fowl, daring it silently to fly a little closer.

"Doom!" the Houndoom warned the pair who had been watching the Skarmory, before drowning them in torturous flames. Noel yelped, hitting the ground before the fire reached him, but Leila took the worst of the burn before toppling over and rolling to douse the flames. Standing up, she whimpered, but stood up tall.

"Its fire is so strong…" Noel commented warily, as the Houndoom growled in an intimidating manner. "Even water attacks evaporate when they near the heat…" he said, referring to his last Water Gun attempt.

Leila nodded in agreement, "But it's a dark-type too… What about a fighting attack?"

Suddenly the Skarmory swooped to attack them, but Leila and Noel merely sidestepped out of the way, engrossed in the conversation. The Skarmory flapped its wings to hover when it had passed them, cawing grievously.

Noel shrugged and continued. "Do you feel like getting too close to that thing?"

Gulping, she shook her head.

"Exactly…"

The fire hound growled, then started to inhale deeply, readying itself for another attack. Noel cursed bitterly, and focused his power on creating a shield of light. "Protect yourself, Leila… that's all we can do right now…"

"Protect myself?" Leila questioned, as once again the Skarmory sped past. It screeched in disappointment once more, suggesting it was up high again.

"Use Protect or something! I don't know! Put something in the way if you can't use Protect! Who cares! Do it quickly!" Noel instructed hurriedly, and painted the air around him with his palms, creating a bubble of light of which the Houndoom's fire would not penetrate.

Leila searched the battle frantically, watching the Skarmory's wings sweep the air once more in a plan to harm Noel. She watched awestruck as it flew at high speeds, aiming at Noel with a sharpened beak to cause mass pain. However, the boundary Noel had created allowed the Skarmory to speed straight into it, bouncing off with a shriek of anguish. Noel's protection had diminished now because of the Skarmory, and he found himself scurrying frantically away, hoping to not be hit by the Houndoom's next attack.

Willing to try out a new technique with her powers, Leila ran to the shaken Skarmory and dodged its snapping beak. Striking its head with her palm, she caused no damage but was able to place her first forefinger on its temple, followed by her other hand's forefinger. Her hands glowed violet for a moment, before darkening, and Skarmory appeared dazed and confused and laid its claws on the ground.

"Psychic…" she murmured, and instantly the Skarmory stiffened, eyes dulling but wide all the same.

The Houndoom threw its head back and released another barrage of flames at Noel, flourishing them madly like a Catherine Wheel. Upon reaching and hiding behind a huge rock, Noel spied Leila with the Skarmory. "What are you doing?" he yelled inquisitively.

She removed her fingers but refused to break contact, trying to tap into its mind while ignoring Noel's frantic questioning. She saw a glimpse of herself in a greyscale format, followed by images of trees and the opposing trainer as she used her own mind to control the Skarmory's head. From the corner of its eye, the Houndoom swallowed air once more, and widened his jaws, beginning to unleash another fiery hassle. Noel had run from his hiding place, and was making his way towards Leila, but the Vileplume stood in his path, petals spinning furiously.

Small embers appeared near the dog's fangs, but Leila used her ability to its potential. "Whirlwind," she tried to say, but only a metallic scream prevailed, coming from the Skarmory's voice and not her own. She smiled, and forced the bird into the air, spinning lividly with wings spread, until it flung all its passion into one twirling blast. As Leila had aimed for, it hit the Vileplume, clearing Noel's path and sending it spiralling into the Houndoom, who whimpered upon impact. Instinctively fury settled in the hound's eyes and flames spurted from its mouth, devouring the Vileplume's soft petals in its cataclysmic heat. Its flower crumbled in on itself, and the Vileplume gasped shrilly. Noel had reached Leila breathlessly, and could only watch bewildered, and having landed, the Skarmory nuzzled against Leila's open hand. Vengefully the Vileplume concentrated, eyes shallow, and released a cloud of spores. The Houndoom raised its head in alarm, nostrils flaring as it turned to stalk away. But the fumes had intoxicated it already, as it fell upon the Vileplume and onto the soft ground, leaving the Vileplume fainted and the Houndoom paralysed. Their trainers hurriedly approached their downed Pokémon. The male trainer took its Houndoom in its arms and embraced it tightly before returning it to its Poké Ball. Pearly light swirled miraculously, wrapping the Houndoom fully and pulling it into its sanctuary. The female huffily marched to the Vileplume and started insulting it in a forlorn accent, before kicking the creature cruelly, and then returned it. Her companion turned his head to her behaviour, whilst she addressed the two children.

"Fools! It'd be so much easier to give in to us! You'd only be hurt more by those higher forces!" she snapped, and pointed to the Skarmory, "Now if you'd be so kind, I'd like my Skarmory back!"

Noel had finally caught his breath, gazed at the Skarmory sceptically, before looking for Leila's reaction. Her eyes turned a divine shade of purple, with hints of black swirling around magically. The trainer that had confronted them had frozen in fright. Leila gave a soft smile, and the trainer smiled back maniacally, stepping towards them once more.

Suddenly the Skarmory shrieked, sending its trainer stumbling back. It rose to the air once more and squawked ominously as Leila thought "Steel Wing". Its wings glinted silver, shining with the radiance of near-godly power. Swooping elegantly but with great speed, the bird chased after its trainer, who darted for the forest, her partner running alongside her. The bird sent ripples of wind creasing their confidence, and narrowly avoided hitting them as they ran into the darkness as the Skarmory shot upwards on wings far heavier than before. Tripping as it landed, dust clouds dispersed, but the bird cawed happily as Leila stroked its cold beak.

"Noel, if I go see if Sid is far behind will you head towards the village? If Aiden has encountered any strangers he's gonna be in a lot of trouble…" Leila asked. Noel smiled before placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Of course," he whispered, "But how are you planning on going back?"

Leila grinned mischievously, placed a blackening hand on the Skarmory's neck and leapt on its back, "Taking to the skies of course!"

"Skar! Skar!" the Skarmory called, before flapping its heavy wings and taking flight. Leila gave Noel the comfort of a wave goodbye as she disappeared far above. Noel gave a small smile and a goodbye gesture too, and turned around, heading north.

◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦

Aiden fell to his knees. His heart may as well have burst.

The three girls tugged on his arm, yelling at him to move, cowering and weeping.

He couldn't move though. There before him was his home. Memories danced on the tip of his tongue; the delight in the celebrations that the village would share. Unnatural lights would grace it brightly, but never had his home been _this_ bright. Never had his home been on fire.

There once stood his family's residence. But now it was burnt to the ground. He wasn't sure if his family was alive or dead. Whether any of the villagers were alive or dead actually. No bodies littered the ground. But the light of the flickering inferno did.

The heat was unbearable, and the roar of the flames almost whispered to Aiden. Begging him, pleading him, persuading him that it'd be best to join it. To be one with the fire. But from previous experience he knew this wasn't the answer. He remembered the distress on Leila's face as he voiced his opinion on giving in, and immediately felt guilt. Sweat ran down his temple teasingly in the heat. The fire could never convince him – not now. But listening more intently he heard it say other things.

"Look! There are people over there! I think it's _them_!"

The girls were practically screaming until Aiden scooped them up and ran, realising that the voices were those of people there to kill them. With fractured images of Leila still etched into his mind, he ran for his and the girls' lives.

◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦

"No! No!" she was screaming, "No!"

Her clammy, dark hand was searching frantically for a pulse. Leila knelt by Sid's side as the Skarmory heaved the rocks off. Her fingers lingered over his jugular, and she found it, the dim beat of hope in his veins. Wiping a solitary tear she sent the message to Skarmory to seize the collar of Sid's clothes and to put him on its back. Loyally, it did so, and Leila hopped on too, holding Sid tightly. As they plunged into the half-light once more, they flew due north to where Noel, Aiden, Lydia, Brooke and Raven should be.

And there she saw it. From the air she witnessed the flames savaging the remains of the village. The Skarmory jolted as Leila's eyes watered with sorrow and her contact weakened. The burning sensation that cursed her eyes strengthened and she rubbed them but focused back on her task. As much as her eyes seared in pain, she had to carry on…

◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦

Noel tended to the scar on his forearm, newly carved by an enemy Sandslash. Aiden stood by his side, three fearful girls sobbing into his cloak. A hole in the ground served purposefully as a spot for them to hide and heal. Noel had found the village incinerated as the others had, and searching for where the bodies may have lay he turned his attention to the ditch in the ground that had once had a well built atop of it. He found bodies, but they were very much alive.

"She went to search for Sid on a Skarmory she possessed," Noel explained when Aiden worriedly asked where Leila was, "She told me to go find you in case you found yourself in a spot of trouble. By the sounds of it she wouldn't be able to stand seeing you in such a situation…" he half-teased.

Aiden cleaned the small scratches on Lydia's left arm with a damp piece of cloth. She didn't whimper much, but tears flowed freely. "Okay…" Aiden answered finally, lost for words any bigger.

Far above, a Pokémon crooned. A low caw echoed through their hideaway.

Noel grinned. "Speak of the devil. That'll probably be Leila right now…"

Excitedly, Aiden looked up, past the gravel and up to the heavens. Scrutinising the sky, something emerged, growing like a drop of ink slowly soaking into a sheet of paper. Aiden's heartbeat reflected how time had seemed to fly with its rushed second hand ticking in panic.

But two more droplets of ink had spilled, followed by several more, and all grew bigger and bigger, not stopping until it was obvious that it was a colossal Fearow and its platoon of Honchkrow.

Aiden's mouth fell, open as he prodded Noel's arm and pointed shakily upwards.

"What?" Noel questioned, squinting at the air.

"Th-that's not Leila!" Aiden declined, and started looking for footholds in the wall to climb to safety. Suddenly realising they were under attack Noel gasped, and helped Aiden.

Brooke and Raven attempted to assist the others, while Lydia stood in the centre of it all, wishing to attempt to utilise the power she had seen others grasp.

She thrust both arms in the air and tried to concentrate. "Zap Cannon!" she yelled, averting Noel's attention. He watched worriedly, but expectantly too.

Seconds passed and nothing happened, when two dull snakes of electricity slithered from her palms, reaching higher and intertwining. She struggled for a moment, but succeeded, and the snakes expanded angrily and shot upwards, serpentine and wriggling. They grew, and the Fearow watched in horror. It raised its enormous wings and flapped powerfully, aiming to gain a higher altitude. Lydia screamed as she felt enough pain, and the electricity withered accordingly. Lydia rubbed her hands in astonishment of the energy it sapped, and Noel rushed over to hug her, staring up at the results of her attack.

The Fearow had taken the hit entirely by surprise, but was still strong enough to fly. It seemed disorientated, but infuriated too, and growled through a close beak, causing the Honchkrow to eclipse it from view as they soared pointlessly before nose-diving downwards to strike, one after another. Brooke wailed, and tugged on Aiden's arm. He looked up in response.

The cluster of Honchkrow bulleted from the invisible barrel in the sky, triggered by frequent calls from the leading Fearow. Stupefied, Aiden only watched, until their cold beaks gleamed, uncovering the brutal spear often misunderstood, and their resolute determination to harm. As they plunged down, Aiden realised their keen eyes were set on Raven and Brooke. Swiftly, he cradled them close and hunched over them, just as the line of Honchkrow propelled into his back. Tensing, he felt each bird puncture him, and blood seeped into his shirt. After seven hits, he straightened up, and swung wildly at the Honchkrow who squawked calmly as they rose back upwards. Aiden reached up the back of his shirt with his hand, and when he withdrew it his fingertips were moist with the precious crimson liquid that powered his life.

In anger, Aiden roared as Brooke and Raven hung onto each other, shivering. Turning to inspect Noel and Lydia, he saw Lydia clinging to Noel's leg, whilst a burgundy bulge of energy bubbled in each of Noel's hands. Wincing, he craned his neck and looked up at the fleeing Honchkrow and their leader.

"Rock Throw," Noel grunted, and heaved the two orbs of light at the bird Pokémon. Intangible, the balls passed harmlessly through many of the enemies, and both met and collided where the Fearow hovered. But, as if possessed, the ground rumbled, and rocks of various shapes and sizes shot upwards, following the exact path Noel had made when he hurled the energy into the dense air. One by one, the birds dropped from the sky, pivoting slowly before fatally crashing to the ground. The Fearow took a hit to each wing, and struggled to stay airborne. It flapped its vast wings frantically it an attempt to keep afloat, but it was still falling. Only when another single rock hurtled into it did it give up hope completely, and wavered, unconscious midair. The thump when it dropped sent Brooke falling to the floor.

Noel cursed bitterly. Aiden looked at him questioningly, and followed Noel's gaze to the air. The rocks that he had sent as missiles could not defy such a simple rule as gravity, and were plummeting down, gaining such speed and strength to kill. Aiden gulped and looked around. The group were near enough imprisoned. It would take ages to climb back up. Staring upwards again, his eyes widened as he faced what could be the end.

He gathered the three girls into Noel's arms and gathered all the courage he could muster. Death was the way out. Death was bliss compared to this life. But was death the answer? Was an eternal nothingness in any way favourable to this hell on earth? Aiden had wondered about it before, and wished death on himself. But when it stared straight into his eyes, he only felt the fear for the unknown.

He couldn't hold back. A tear spilt and trickled down his cheek. Aiden looked at his shoes, scared to face fate, and nonchalantly he scrubbed the tear away with his thumb, leaving his hand sore and a smear of his blood under his eye. He didn't care any longer. He had seen Sid for the last time. He had hugged little Lydia, Brooke and Raven for the last time. He had battled alongside Noel for the last time.

And for the last time he had breathed the same blessed air as Leila. The tears now ran freely, and all dignity diminished at his fragile, shredded hopes.

He couldn't say goodbye to Leila or Sid. And he didn't have the heart to say it to Noel and the girls. It was too late anyway. In a few seconds, everything would be-

_Clunk._

His head snapped up. There was no light. Darkness had prevailed.

_Clunk. Clunk._

The harsh ringing sound of objects swatting at metal. The dull clatter and occasional higher-pitched smash.

_Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Clunk._

The clunks continued as objects rained down mercilessly. Somewhere near Raven screamed, expressing her fear of the dark, and immediately Aiden knew they were still together and in the same place. Something had just blocked out the exit.

That's when he saw it. Glimmering faintly but maliciously, an eye swivelled in its socket, focusing upon each of the children even in such darkness.

"Flash," commanded Aiden, raising a lonely hand as red-tinted light poured from his bloodied fingertips. He wiped them clean and the light became purified, and he shone it upwards.

The beast turned its head away at such a bright light, and when Aiden aimed it straight in the eye it hissed angrily as if more serpent than bird. Stumbling backwards, the light fell on the monster's whole body, uncovering it as a Skarmory.

"An enemy Skarmory!" Aiden shouted, "Quick! It's blocked the exit! We have to get rid of it!" The radiance from his hand disappeared. He rubbed his hands together and spread both hands wide. "Fire-"

Noel approached Aiden calmly and forced his hands down. "Look," he merely stated, and pointed up to where one of Skarmory's claws were dug into the walls. Its other claw supported it by burying itself in the other wall and its giant metallic wings were spread, as if protecting the children from above assaults.

Aiden conjured the flash of light once again and aimed the beam at where Noel had directed. Upon the beam hitting, Lydia cheered enthusiastically, and Aiden gasped.

"Leila?"

Perched on the leg of the Skarmory was Leila, with another body lay slumped across her lap, seemingly unconscious. The Skarmory tilted its head at her and growled, but not to intimidate, but to reassure. Leila smiled up at her steel-clad guardian. "You did very well," she told it, and it growled happily. She then turned to her peers, confidence almost bursting from her grin. "Hey."

Speechless, Aiden could only smile back, dumbfounded. Noel stepped forward, inquisitive.

"Did you find Sid?" he asked.

Leila's smile dropped for a moment as she motioned to the body that lay on her lap, "Yeah. Poor guy was almost buried alive. He's unconscious I think – he still has a pulse. But yeah… he'll have a fair share of war stories when he wakes up."

Noel beamed, proud, whilst Leila slid her body off of the Skarmory's leg, suspending herself only by her right arm. Extending her left arm downwards, she called to the others: "Someone give me their hand and I'll pull them up."

Aiden lifted Brooke atop of his shoulders and she reached upwards for Leila's swinging hand. Smiling, Leila heaved the young girl up until she was in range of the Skarmory's beak. The bird clamped its beak around Brooke's shawl and lifted her to the ground where she yelled happily.

The same process occurred for both Lydia and Raven too, until Aiden reached up. When he finally reached the Skarmory's leg Lydia asked him to take Sid up with him. Carrying Sid's flaccid body, Aiden allowed the Skarmory to lift the two of them up and join the girls. Keeping Sid safely in his arms, Aiden waited for the final two of their group.

Noel joined them soon after, and then the Skarmory beat its wings to escape from the pit. Leila dropped and landed perfectly, and summoned the Skarmory down, who seemed to be panicking midair due to the intensity of the flames engulfing the village around it. Meandering around the pillars of smoke, the Skarmory landed gracelessly, and straightened up, readying itself for Leila's next order.

"We should stop the fire!" exclaimed Brooke, terrified of the fire around her.

"Darling, we can't," Noel said, kneeling beside her, "if the bad people see that we've put it out they'll know that we're around here, and then we'll be caught for sure. It'd be a good thing to do," he added, noticing tears in Brooke's eyes, "but it's hardly practical if you get what I mean."

Brooke shook her head defiantly, "No! We need to put it out!"

"Why? I quite like it myself. Shows the village in a better light if you ask me…"

The seven children turned around, unhurriedly but tense, facing the same woman that had unleashed the Aggron and Arcanine on them. By her side stood her faithful hound, barking promisingly at the children. She smiled sweetly, and took two steps forward, causing the children to retreat.

Forcing a face of mock offence, she sighed. "Tut, tut. Where are your manners?"

"Left in your dust along with your Aggron I'm guessing," Leila retorted, as if bored with the woman. The woman scowled and squinted at the group, until she found Sid's unconscious body in Aiden's embrace.

"Ah, and that was the little troublemaker that did it, eh?" she pondered aloud. "Well, it's a good job my Aggron finished him off. So there are only six children now, and only two boys left... Oh, you are in a spot of bother aren't you?" She turned abruptly to Aiden, eyes wide. "Tell me boy, why do you cling to that lifeless rag doll like he has a chance to live?"

"Because he _is_ still alive," he answered, voice hoarse, "he's still alive and we need him."

"He's still alive, is he?" she wondered, looking genuinely shocked, "He took on my Aggron and he survived?"

Speechless, Aiden nodded.

Her mask of shock soon morphed into a face filled with malevolence. "Not for long then," she growled, as her Arcanine sunk to the floor as if ready to pounce. Fishing in both of her pockets, she pulled out four Poké Balls, two in each hand, and threw them to the floor. A vortex of pale light erupted from each, highlighting the woman's features until she looked truly demonic. When the light started to form shapes it dimmed, exposing four Pokémon to add to the woman's previously released Arcanine.

An Ariados scuttled forward on many legs, baring pointed fangs that could excrete harsh venom proved by the vibrant, warning colours the arachnid was painted in.

Beside the Ariados snorted a Rhyhorn, body lowered, ready to charge. Its rock-strewn skin suggested mass suffering if it crashed into them, supported by the sheer look of hatred in the Rhyhorn's small, slanted eyes and the way it would scrape its horn on the rocky land it stood upon, as if to sharpen it.

Displaying orange scythe-like wings, a Salamance roared next to the Rhyhorn, causing the Rhyhorn to snort louder still. The Salamance exhaled a yellowish breath before staring at the children. Upon seeing the three small girls trembling it opened its mouth and bellowed once more.

Lastly, lingering above the other three was a Drifblim, floating almost peacefully, twirling gracefully at moments with its limbs swaying easily. When it finally stopped turning, a raspy wind teased the children, spinning around them furiously and only faltering when clouds of dust had risen so high that their sight was impaired.

Noel coughed, "What do we do?"

Raven cried bitterly into Leila's leg whilst the woman's brutal command was heard from what seemed like far away. Skarmory lowered its head in fear. Leila, sensing its limits and supposing its use had been fulfilled, sent it far away into the sky where it would be neither under her control nor tempted to attack them. Crooning thankfully, it spread its wings and soared through the dust.

"Alright. Arcanine, go up front and lead the troops. All of you attack with-"

"That'll be enough now," someone interrupted, and all was silent. The dust clouds faded slightly, and five Pokémon could be seen looking around questioningly at the figures of two people. One was the woman who the Pokémon belonged to, but the other could not be seen through the coiled dust clouds. Noel paused momentarily, focusing more on his voice. Something seemed viciously familiar.

Aiden dropped Sid into Noel's hands and rubbed his own. He motioned for the others to stand back, and with hands outstretched, he span around slowly. "Whirlwind," he mumbled.

The other children clung onto each other as Aiden grew faster, and soon he had fallen to the ground, all essence of the whirlwind having left him and unleashing itself around. Clearing the field so that they could see, the whirlwind diminished, and Aiden stood up and dusted himself off. The figure they could not before recognise was grinning at them.

"Hello Noel. Hello Aiden, Sid, Leila, and the rest of the girls."

Noel almost dropped Sid, awestruck by who stood before them. "Drake? Drake Rein?"

"_Doctor_ Rein actually…" he replied, "Miss me much?"

Before the children could answer, the woman had disrupted the conversation again. "Doctor Rein, I really must disagree! I was just about to-"

"Yes, and I said that'll be enough," Drake answered calmly, "and now I tell you to return your Pokémon."

With distaste etched upon her face, she did as told to, and stood miserably nearby.

"Now, where were we?" he continued, satisfied with his inferior's reaction.

"You! Why are you here?" Noel burst out, voice breaking.

In reply, Drake shrugged half-heartedly. "I'm one of them now, and I'm of a high rank. It's my duty, isn't it?"

"You're duty was to stay with us! You were one of us, Drake! Why did you betray us?"

"Please… I wasn't on your side to begin with. I may have been born into your nature but that doesn't mean I agreed with it. I changed, Noel. I changed for the best."

"You didn't change for the best!" Aiden growled in response, "You changed for the worst! Look at you now! Trying to kill us? You think killing people is for the best?"

"No… But killing you _scum_ is definitely for the better," he smirked.

"Our families only did what the government told them to do. If they didn't do it, someone else would've had to," Leila added, calmly, stroking Lydia's hair.

"Well I guess there was always going to be a group like you who would have to be exterminated," Drake shrugged half-heartedly.

"Exterminated for what, though?" Brooke asked almost reluctantly.

Stepping towards them, Drake lowered himself to Brooke's height, eyes open wide and eyebrows furrowed. "Your _powers_…" he hissed melodramatically, causing Brooke to whimper and recoil. Drake laughed in sadistic pleasure and stood up straight.

"Drake, you used to be like a brother to me," Noel reasoned, voice overflowing with regret, "and then you put our past, no, our families' past, in the way… Why? Surely we should be proud of our past?"

"No!" Drake spat at the ground, "You should be disgusted at it!"

"We are talking about the same past, right?" Aiden questioned.

"I think so…" Drake replied, "Contrary to popular belief, Pokémon were not born. They were created. And in the attempts to create Pokémon there was a specialist group, ultimately our… no, _your_ ancestors. Well, they weren't so much specialists, but they were sent to experiment with certain Pokémon the government thought had too much power. The government sent this group to lower the powers of these Pokémon or something… And to a certain extent they succeeded. Those Pokémon are the legendary Pokémon of today. Only a few of each species were created so they could breed to keep population up but not so many that they could swarm the earth and combine powers. Of course, there are so few of them today that they're thought as… almost a mirage by most people. Yeah, well whatever. Thing is upon restricting the powers of the legendary Pokémon your ancestors started to notice some changes. They themselves could harness the exact same powers. But Pokémon abilities were meant for Pokémon and Pokémon alone. Your ancestors also noticed that whenever they tried to use the Pokémon moves they would damage their own body, much like how your hands are black now. And once their secret was let out they were shunned by society… It's quite sad actually…"

"And this disgusts you why?" Leila asked.

"Because even when their bodies rejected using the moves and started to harm themselves they wouldn't stop! They were engrossed with their new power even though it wasn't meant for them! They weren't meant to use this power!"

"You have _this_ power too Drake!" Aiden snapped, but Drake merely shook his head.

"No. I ran away to the people that could help me. People like her," he explained, motioning to the woman that had unleashed her Arcanine and Aggron before, and moving towards her. She looked stunned at first, and even though she had obvious dislike for Drake the flattery this caused was obvious. "They helped me. They stripped me of the curse that had been passed down to me."

Sid groaned and tried to turn in Noel's arms, causing Noel to tighten his grip while Aiden crouched down to care for his peer. "And how did they do that? Strap you down and dissect you? I think I'd rather stick to this… this 'curse' as you call it," Noel retorted.

Drake frowned. "It was a long and unpleasant process… but it was worthwhile…"

"Hah! Worthwhile?" Leila laughed, "For us maybe. Now you can't do _this_! Razor Leaf!" She flung invisible objects into Drake general direction until the wind shuffled a myriad of leaves into the air, each spinning forth to collide with the target Leila had predefined. Drake dropped to the ground and rolled to dodge the attack. Resurfacing, his hair was ruffled and his scowl was definite. Anger bubbled inside him, brewing the adrenaline that caused his hand to remove his coat and toss it towards his peer, only to provide easier access to his belt. Unlike standard trainers, Drake carried eight Pokémon, and shamefully Leila gulped. The woman, having had Drake's coat thrown at her, threw it to her left, and into a smouldering heap of wood where it sizzled pleasantly. If Drake noticed, he wasn't bothered, as his finger rubbed the exterior of each of his Pokémon's shelters. For a second his finger remained on a single Poké Ball, red paint having been scratched and chipped from previous battles. He seemed to make his mind up.

"Madeline?" he grunted, finally revealing his peer's name.

"Y-yes Doctor Rein," she stammered, afraid that she may be punished for the disappearance of his coat.

"Call out one of your Pokémon, any of them. Your choice," a small grin graced her face, "but I will be in control of said Pokémon," her grin faded, "while you fetch Mr. Desmond's father..." She regained her grin, but then paused.

"Uh… who, Sir?" she questioned fearfully.

Drake blinked and turned to face Madeline, "Mr. Desmond's father?" She looked blank. "Noel Desmond's? Noel's?" Still she looked blank until Drake raised a finger and pointed him out, "That one! The one carrying Sidney Grahams?" Madeline nodded as she suddenly understood, and her smirk grew. "You'll find him in the main entrance to Twinspire Cavern; the entrance right under the east side of Twinspire Peak. He'll be bound to a woman, beaten but very much alive. You can tell which one he is by the repeated branding mark on his left arm. When we tried to brand him he kept wriggling away, thus he has a bunch of scars for show." At this point, Drake turned to Noel. "You have a very brave father Noel. Foolish, but brave…" Turning back to Madeline he ordered her to make a move but leave a Pokémon behind for him.

The Ball exploded upon impact with the ground, and once again Ariados emerged from its blinding camouflage. It scuttled forward, snapping its pincers hungrily, and shaking its head violently as to showcase its large horn. Drake smiled at Madeline's choice and watched her jog the short distance to Twinspire Cavern.

"This is the end as you know it girls and boys," Drake spoke clearly, as if his audience remained hidden in the forest and thriving flames around him, "this is the end, and Noel… your father will be right here to witness it…"


	3. The Last Mistake Before You Die

ஐ ▪**D i e . R o m a n t i c **_**▪ **_ஐ  
_This Is The Nightmare We Die Complete  
_-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦ _author's note_ ◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦  
Fahlala no one reads this so I could use this space to talk about how I had cravings for Pom Bears today yet had to make do. xP However, if by strange chance you did come to read this then, um, hello! Slight warning: this chapter may be… slightly morbid… well… it was anyways…  
_Sorry it's been a while. What can I say? A lot has happened._ That doesn't change the fact that this is still dedicated to **Just-Another-Meaningless-Soul** who can never fail to make me smile, & has the heart to read & review. & no, that wasn't a polite & subtle attempt to reel in a few more reviews. –cough&grin– Maybe. Please?

◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦ _replies_ ◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦  
**Just-Another-Meaningless-Soul**; Honestly, you're an angel for everything you've done. Poképowers, I feel, is an apt name but it's sad that there might be a slight twist in things to come after this chapter that might disable the use of the name for a bit. _I'm glad that you feel my words are good enough to hit quite close to home,_ **& yet I'm sad you had those negative feelings there to begin with.** We're human though, I guess. We hurt. We bleed. We break thumbs (Y) :D & you are a legend!

**Other Readers**; Nyah, who am I kidding? Other readers? If there be readers, show yourselves please. :P I'd much like to know who's reading, & any feedback, flames, criticisms & one-liners are always welcome! & returned! Enjoy ((or try to)).

◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦ _disclaimer_ ◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦  
Pokémon isn't mine. The song "Die Romantic" isn't mine. 30 Seconds To Mars' song "A Modern Myth" isn't mine. The rest of the world, however… **one day.**

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  
_**C**_**hapter **_**o**_**o3:  
**_**The Last Mistake Before You Die  
**__So don't forget to breathe tonight. Tonight's the last so say goodbye…_

"I'm glad," Noel responded, "who better to guide me on how to defeat you than my father?"

Drake shook his head sadly, "Such a weak comeback. Obviously seventeen years didn't treat you as kindly as I. Oh well, if you can make a strong enough comeback against this, I'll be impressed." He unclipped the Ball he had earlier decided on, pressed the button in the centre and hurled it into the ground.

Bracing herself, Leila watched intently as a bright light radiated. The Poké Ball clasped itself together again and zoomed into Drake's open hand, while at the same moment a heavy white paw stepped from the light. As the light subsided, it reared its head up, brandishing the scythe-like monument.

Eyes full of intelligence, the Absol remained still, awaiting a command.

"You people… you're irrational if you thought you possibly had the chance of defeating me!" Drake boasted nonchalantly, "I'll give you a chance to give in… Any takers?" Silence drifted amongst the group, disrupted by the light crackling of flames, "No? Fine. Suit yourselves." He smirked with obvious loathing for the past the children shared, as his enemies gathered in a tight circle.

Sid moaned once more, shuddering as if to wake. Noel looked down at him, then to the young girls, before settling his gaze on Leila and Aiden. "Any ideas?" he prompted, hushed.

After a pause, Aiden answered. "Look after the girls Noel… and try to wake Sid up too… after he's conscious either you or him can join us…" He paused to breathe. "Us being Leila and I… we can hold Drake off… can't we?" He looked deep into Leila's eyes, sensing the uncertainty swirling around in them. She bit her already cut lip.

"Tick tock! Time's a-wastin'!" Drake called impatiently from afar, causing Leila to answer sooner than she would have preferred.

"Of course we can," she replied, turning her back to the others and marching to her position on the battlefield. The Ariados lowered its body in anticipation, and Aiden jogged forward to pull up alongside her. Noel and the girls ushered towards a tree that had not yet been reached by the flames incinerating their homes. Laying Sid by the tree, Noel rubbed his hands together and tried to gain enough energy to use Recover.

"Oh, so a two-on-two battle it is?" Drake commented as Aiden and Leila approached but stood stoically some fair distance away, "Well, make it just a bit easier for me, why don't you?"

Just then, Madeline returned with a man that Aiden recognised to be Noel's father bound and being carried over her shoulder, gagged but still screaming and kicking too.

"He's a feisty one," muttered Madeline, "I had to keep him bound, Sir."

"Very well Madeline, but make sure that he is here to see the downfall of the younger members of the clan," Drake ordered, "and do take that ridiculous gag off. I want to hear him beg for me to stop." Madeline smiled, and untied the gag at the end. Noel's father inhaled deeply, pleased by what must have been clean air compared to breathing through the dirty rag although the smoke from the fire was dense.

"Good evening, Raphael Desmond," Drake greeted Noel's father cheerily.

"What a pleasant surprise, Drake," he spat in reply, not hiding a glare. Madeline booted him unmercifully in the side, causing Noel to shout out. Aiden spun round and yelled at him to keep his eyes on the others.

"I swear Noel; he'll be fine, as will everyone else. I'll save him with my own two hands. I promise," he tried to calm his friend down, and reluctantly Noel lowered his body, sapping more energy from the heat around him to revive his downed companion.

"You have been called here today, Mr. Desmond, to witness the slow… painful… excruciating… mortifying death of your son and his… his cronies!" Drake said slowly, deliberately lengthening each word for emphasis. However, he did not expect Raphael to merely cackle in delight at this statement. Drake gave a commanding glance at Madeline who instantly kicked him in the side once more, but harder. A small amount of blood dribbled from Raphael's mouth amongst his quietened chuckles.

"You expect _them_ to lose to _you_?" he choked, "After all the training and honing in on their talents? Hah! What are you thinking? Compared to their brute strength, you and your Pokémon are worthless."

Drake tensed at these words, and Raphael's face blazed red as Madeline's harsh hand made contact in a sharp slap. Drake turned to Leila and Aiden, who both stood still, spheres of concentrated cerulean energy coating their hands. "Water Gun!" they both cried as it spurted from their palms, dousing the Absol, Ariados and their trainers, and consequently Raphael too. He shook of the water and gave a hesitant grin.

"Okay! Let's battle then! The people of our time will always remember this date as the day where supreme Pokémon trainer and elite scientist, Doctor Drake Rein, took out the group of bandits in the north… the day that I finally took out Team… er… what was your group's name again?" Drake asked, flustered, "Team Rock? Team Rapid?"

"Team Rocket!" Raphael corrected, "Team Rocket was what the government named us when we were in charge of the legends. And if we all fail, our clan still would not die. We have formed many an alliance with those out of our village… those considered 'normal' by you. They would reconstruct Team Rocket if and when we die. They would find a way to get their hands on the most powerful of Pokémon, and even the legendaries we helped tame too. And with those Pokémon, a new generation of Rockets will evolve. When you think us 'abnormal' folk are gone forever, we'll be back. It may take them a while to get all of the Pokémon they need… but oh… it will be worth the wait…" Raphael relaxed, leaning back although still drenched.

Drake merely stared at him, dumbfounded. "Oh… that's nice. Good for you. Anyways! Yeah. This will be the day where _Team Rocket_, as you call yourselves, will finally be defeated."

However, Aiden and Leila had already conjured orbs of fire energy. "Give us a break!" Drake shouted, as the energy was released on his Pokémon, singeing them badly. Still, they showed determination to battle, but obedience to not move without being commanded. "Now, let the battle begin!" Drake scowled.

Casting a look back to Noel, Aiden concentrated on his inner power and how to harness it all inside to establish a fatal Fighting attack. He felt his chest swell with what might have been pride, but instead was the constant rush of force into his body. He looked at Leila who was summoning another fiery move once more, reds, oranges and yellows creasing around her delicate fingers.

Due to the two focusing their powers, both Absol and Ariados got the first strikes in. "Ariados! Reel the two in with a String Shot! Make sure to bind their arms!" Two silvered ropes shot from the spider's mouth, aimed successfully at Aiden and Leila. Using her quick instincts, Leila used her fists to swipe at the string aimed at her. It immediately turned black as her hand tangled with flames contacted the web. It withered, smouldered, and shortened like a fuse, sending waves of intense heat back to the Ariados. Panicking, it spat out both shots of string, as the one meant to bind Leila burned rapidly. Leila had not been quick enough to burn Aiden's binds, but the Ariados had dropped his bindings too, leaving Aiden to struggle to break free. However, this had sapped all of her previously mustered fire energy, leaving her vulnerable when the Ariados sent another two glimmering cables. It wound its way around Leila's fragile body, tripping her so her skull crashed against the ground, and pulling her in hastily so her head was between two spindly legs. Aiden still struggled, but was trapped too, and reeled in alongside Leila, tears stinging his eyes.

Drake smiled contently as his friends from long ago squirmed in displeasure. He stood back, motioning for Madeline to follow, and placed his hands on his ears. Confused, Madeline mimicked her superior, who looked to Absol.

"Absol," he called, "Perish Song."

Having heard this command, Noel hastily removed his gloves from his boots, ramming them into Sid's ears so he was temporarily deaf. Slapping his own hands to his ears, Noel urged the three girls to follow his lead. Frustrated, they did as told, and waited.

Leila, Aiden and Raphael didn't have the ability to put their hands to their ears. Being tightly bound, all of them cried out, knowing of what their fate consisted of. All that heard the song would die after three attacks from the Pokémon that caused it. If they didn't die they'd be only inches from death, and sometimes the enormous amount of pain in the short journey until the end could be fatally distressful, and even drive the survivors to seek death themselves. Miserably, the three all tried to break out of their bounds, but to no avail.

The disaster Pokémon shook its luscious mane dramatically before staring up at the sky and slowly widening its mouth. The cries from those who were to be subjected to the Perish Song were louder than anything around, even the rising flames that cast an eerie glow on each and every face, and yet the short raspy breaths of the Absol were strangely audible. Eyes twinkling beautifully, the lids slowly closed, and it howled mournfully to the darkening sky. Clouds became visible, danced to the tune as it became more high-pitched, and the hollow winds began to echo every available note. The captives ceased struggling, and paused. Their eyes were wide and their faces were blank. The haunting melody was calming them, but also informing them that their fate was to come. And through bloodshot eyes it was terribly plain that they had accepted it.

The howling stopped and the Absol trotted backwards, almost in fear. When the song finally stuck, both the Absol and the Ariados would also be downed. Over the years, Pokémon had received almost immunity to the song however – most would not die, but faint and be unable to battle. A Pokémon centre could easily heal critters that had heard it. This differed from humans however. Leila stared blankly upwards, past the salivating jaws of her captor, and wondered what awaited her in heaven. Or would she go to hell? Was she really as bad as Drake had implied? And if she was, would she have ever changed her ways?

The girls and Noel shouting her name awoke her from her trance, and likewise Aiden gave a positive response once her name was called. Raphael let a tear drop as he regained composure. Was this the last time he would hear his son's sweet voice? "I love you, my son" he mumbled under his breath, quivering in bottled up emotion, "I love you…"

Realising where he was, Aiden felt the balloon of power he had summoned still throbbing in his chest. Feeling it crush his heart and smother his lungs, he exhaled loudly and swiped aggressively at the silk bindings wrapped around him, disappointed that this energy had not been enough before the Perish Song had been sung. Body positively buzzing with his newly found fighting skills, he ripped the web from around himself, and tore Leila's cocoon in half too. Finally free, he landed a brutal kick to the side of the Absol's head, causing it to retreat and almost hiss in anger.

"Use String Shot to get to that tree! Then use your Fury Swipes attack, Ariados!" Drake hollered, and instinctively the arachnid sent a string of web to a distant tree, and sucked it in rapidly so as to zoom to the tree. However, Aiden who had been backing away from the opposing Pokémon was in the Ariados' line of movement, so when the Ariados pulled itself to the tree it collided with Aiden. Raising many pointed legs, it slashed at Aiden's meek body, earning a disinclined cry of pain with each scratch. Leila sped towards the Ariados, aiming to protect her companion, but the Ariados merely jabbed a long leg at her, causing her to double over while the leg hit her once more to send her crashing into the ground.

Drake smiled at the scenario and walked up slowly to the pensive Raphael. Using his foot, Drake pushed Raphael onto his back, leant over and lowered his face so their visions laced.

"You scared?" Drake jeered as his foot pressed harder into the man's collarbone.

Raphael replied absolutely certain, apathy moulding his lips into a straight line and erasing all the tears that welled. "No. As I said, future generations of Rockets will seek out both powerful Pokémon and legenda-"

"No! They will not!" Drake snapped venomously, "They cannot!"

The Ariados was still at Drake's outburst, as was his Absol who turned round to face its infuriated trainer. Madeline urged her Ariados to continue attacking, but was disappointed to find it would now only listen to Drake and was not under her command. Aiden crawled out weakly from under its body, seeing Leila and creeping towards her, taking part of his ripped clothing in his right hand and dabbing the corner of her mouth delicately where blood seemed to ooze from.

"They cannot!" Drake continued, "For _Team Rocket _never did do such a marvellous job at limiting the powers of such legendary Pokémon. For instance, take Dialga and Palkia. Two Pokémon who can control elements of time and space? They could wreak destruction on the land! And thus… we are demolishing them…"

"You're demolishing them? What do you mean?" Leila asked, suddenly wary.

Drake smirked, and threw four crystalline shards at Leila's feet as the light reflected and refracted, concocting serpentine ribbons of colour flowing from every angle. Curiosity getting the better of her, she reached forward and held one up to her face. Aiden, equally as bemused, did the same, but could only determine that it was some type of rare jewel.

As the duo scrutinised the splinters of the gem, silence blanketed the scene, apart from the dull roar of fire and the suddenly constant groans of Sid. Casting his head back, Aiden saw Sid perched up against the tree, gratefully swallowing water from the hands of Noel, who obviously had found enough energy to create such necessities. Sid seemed to sway from dizziness, and Noel looked weak from his nursing of Sid, but Aiden was content to know his childhood friend still lived.

"Do you know what these are?" Drake interrupted, voice shredding the quiet.

Aiden turned back to what he held in his hand and hazarded a very vague guess. "Some kind of gem, I'm guessing? Crystal, or diamond. Rare? Valuable? I don't know."

Drake chuckled darkly, as the Ariados spat silk at the shards, snatching them from the ground and the children's hands. "Diamond, yes. And definitely rare and valuable. But these," he explained, holding one piece in front of his face as to distort his features until it resembled a scrawled diagram of pure menace, "are not just any rare stone…"

Drake rummaged through his pockets until a crimson appliance emerged. The technology used to create this device was far more superior to that of the village's, but still it was something that most people could identify with. Pushing a button, a cover flipped open, revealing various buttons and a screen for images. As Drake aligned the gem with the Pokédex, it blinked automatically as an image of an almost draconian beast, shaded in blues and greys, with a gleaming diamond settled comfortably in its chest, flashed on the screen. From the Pokédex, a computer-recorded, male voice recited: "Dialga. The Temporal Pokémon. It has the power to control time. It appears in Sinnoh-region myths as an ancient deity."

Sensing the confusion over this barrage of information, Drake sought to clear up the matters. "These four fragments are what happened to Dialga when we finally found it. We removed the diamond from its chest, and we shattered it. It was such a beautiful sight – you should have been there! The creature kinda swooned, before its knees buckled and it hit the ground. It was still breathing, and it's still alive. But it won't be for long. It needs the diamond to survive. And likewise the government is currently searching for the objects that the other legendary Pokémon rely upon to live, or what conditions they need to survive. And with that information, we'll kill them. We'll have no more fear of them parading the world, and there will be no fear of the _frightening Team Rocket_ ever returning! Dialga put up a fight, I must add. But in the end it lost. I was told that it would die soon, in fact in mere minutes. Just like it's friend… Palkia…" With these words he fished in his pockets once more and pulled out four identical segments of a pearl. Checking his Pokétch, he tapped its screen impatiently, and smiled knowingly at Leila. "Don't worry, I'll tell you when the two beasts are set to die. We'll have a nice countdown…"

Casting small glances at each other, Leila and Aiden exhaled loudly and at the same time, as if on cue. Drake raised an eyebrow.

Leila hid her hands behind her back and forced her eyes to the ground, making sure they were fixed on one spot. Drake tilted his head, confused. "And what's your problem _Princess_?" he jeered, using a long lost nickname that winded Leila momentarily. Jerkily raising her head, her eyes became slanted, and her hands flew in front of her, smouldering in green energy.

"Petal Dance!" she shouted with almost too much energy although a bead of sweat dripped from her hairline subtly. She flung herself forward, waltzing on the spot quickly, spinning with her arms gracefully striking poses as the nature around her stirred. From nowhere, petals sprouted in a flurry as if exiting from the very walls of her body, swirling in the air and caught in her merriment. An innumerable amount of colours engulfed all views of her figure, and they plagued the Absol and Ariados together in a squall of forgotten shades. Both squirmed and stepped back towards their master. As the petals finally dispersed, she swung back and forth, delirious and totally vulnerable to any attacks.

Drake grinned widely, taking advantage of the moment. "Slash, Absol!" he demanded, as the lupine creature pounced on the girl and hacked at her with its blade-like feature. In her fluster, she managed to dodge the worst of the attacks, but took a nasty cut on her leg, bringing her falling facedown on reality's solid floor again. The pain didn't bother her as much as it should've. There was one thought on her mind.

_Perish Song would be detonated when the Absol attacked twice more._

The Absol still stood over her, watching her as if summing her up in its uneasy gaze. Leila struggled to get up, but heavy footsteps told her that Aiden was coming to help her. However, the shadow of a gigantic spider told her that Aiden would be held back.

"Step away, my Absol," Drake insisted, but much more peacefully and calmly. Obedient, the Absol removed its paws from either side of her body and trotted over to stand behind Ariados, who was currently succeeding in holding Aiden back. Drake stood over Leila, examining her but with an impish grin. Through tired eyes she stared back, and saw as his long fingers slowly entwined with hers. Unable to think to blush or look away, her head remained in the same position and she gave no effort when he tried to hoist her upwards. She was startled by his strength though, as he lifted her to her feet and stabled her by placing both his hands upon her waist.

"Long time no see _Princess_," he began, slowly rubbing her right side with one hand. In the distance she heard Aiden shouting, and Sid give a conscious cough. From his position on his back, Raphael looked up wearily at the two.

"Don't call me that," Leila snapped back, forcing herself to concentrate. She placed her hand on his, and removed it, adding bluntly "and don't do that either."

"Why not?" Drake wondered aloud, "Oh, you know we used to be so good together. You remember those days, don't you? How you must long for them. I suppose you stay up at nights cuddling your pillow, wishing it was my chest pressed up against you once more?" He forcefully hugged Leila, pushing her head to his chest so she could hear his racing pulse. Sickened by her theory of a monster like Drake not having a heart being proved wrong, she tried to pry her head from his grasp, but to no avail. "I'll be honest," he whispered into her ear, sending his hot breath to draw goose-bumps from her bruised skin, "I missed you too…"

Disgusted, Leila aimed a knee to collide with his groin, but casually he blocked the assault with a carefully placed hand, as if this was expected. "I don't miss you in the least Drake! You betrayed me… betrayed _us_! If you had remained loyal, maybe you'd have a chance this day. But no… I'm tired of second chances. I could never miss someone who so unmercifully broke my heart."

Drake only smiled, shrugging lightly. "Don't lie _Princess_. You want me." Leila scowled angrily, shaking her head once more and aiming to slap him, when his own hand shot out craftily, catching hers midair. "And if it's the truth you're telling, it won't be true for long… 'Cause Leila, I intend to get you back. One…" he pressed his lips on the hand he had caught, "way…" he steadily worked his way up her forearm, "or…" she shivered as the light but intimidating pressure of his mouth was placed on her neck, slowly moving upwards, "another." His took her chin between his thumb and fingers and tilted her head back. Fear surged through her veins, sending warning alarms blazing through her mind but still constricting her so escaping was not an option. Her ample eyes searched his, pleading him not to, but he still continued, shutting his eyes as Leila stood frozen in horror. Leaning forward, Leila ducked bashfully as to make it harder for their lips to collide, but expectantly she awaited the collision, lips etched with dread and eyes rimming with confusion.

He forced her head back into its previous position as his face inched closer. She squirmed, silently praying for help as she felt his hot breath on her neck. Tears weaved themselves into intricate patterns, adorning her face, as she realised how helpless she was. She tried as hard as possible to collect energy to summon another attack, but in her current panic she could not concentrate. She just wanted help.

As if a seraph had answered, multiple pins shot smoothly through the air, embedding themselves in Drake's side. Loosening his grip, Leila ran to Aiden, who had summoned the vicious Pin Missile attack. Squeezing his side, Drake withdrew several pins, each nearing six inches in length. Scowling at his interrupted chance with Leila, he pondered on what attack to use next, as he eyed Leila hiding behind Aiden's sturdy figure, tears still trailing down her face and arms wrapped tightly around Aiden's waist. Drake blew a kiss with an intimate wink.

"Ariados, use Sludge Bomb!" Drake growled forebodingly, as the faithful Pokémon raised its pincers to the sky and created an orb of swirling purple and black blotches. Once it had grown as large as it could in the limited space of the Ariados' jaws, the spider swung its head to hurl the sphere. Grabbing Leila, Aiden rushed out of the way, diving to the floor and allowing dust clouds to rise upon impact. Instead, the orb crashed to the ground, splattering as it collided and coating the floor in toxic waste that slowly began to evaporate, as if the current temperature was too high for it to withstand. Noticing this, Leila looked at the remains of the village. The heat was immense, and she would not have been surprised if her skin had darkened a shade from it. She coughed after she inhaled a passing waft of smoke, only to have Sid's cough as a reply. Looking over, she saw Noel hunched over his left arm, which seemed bent in an odd position. The three girls huddled behind him, blatantly cowering from the violence. Sid caught her attention once more, and looked at her through half-shut eyes. He managed a smile, and politely she returned it, thinking about everything that he had done for her.

Only when Aiden started screaming in pain did Leila avert her attention to him. He was crawling frantically backwards, scraping at his leg with his hands as if to separate his leg from the rest of his body. Leila rushed over to him to see that some of the poison had hit his leg where the fabric failed to cover his skin. Steam rose from where it hit, and a low sizzling sound could be heard, eating away at his flesh. Leila ripped a piece of cloth from her cloak, but upon dabbing away at the toxic Aiden only screamed louder, wincing in pain. Looking down, he acknowledged the blistering skin, and threw his head back in torment.

"Use Substitute!" Raphael was shouting, "You will not feel the pain, but still be able to attack."

Aiden barely heard the kind words from Noel's father, but after another minute of thrashing painfully on the ground the words registered. Aiden had never used the attack before, but the description sounded worthwhile, and he trusted the judgement of Noel's father. Successfully calming himself down, he trapped all energy inside his chest, and called "Substitute!" as a mysterious lavender aura surrounded him, and engulfed him, leaving his body motionless on the ground.

He felt as if he had been thrown out of his own body as wind whistled maniacally around him and his stomach compressed in shock. Opening his eyes he saw the exact same landscape, but in front of him lay his own body. Frustrated, he urged his left leg to move, and found that his current form had a body of its own. Looking from his current position, floating midair and a pearly white colour, to what he thought was his body lying on the ground; the truth dawned upon him. His spirit and his body had been temporarily separated as to make a 'substitute'.

Testing his suspicions, he focused all energy on the body that lay in front of him, and forced him into movement like he was a puppet. Noting that he was now in two places, and had control over two bodies he could soon see where the advantage lay. Skimming the ground, Aiden floated over to Leila who was now standing alongside the alternative Aiden to tell her too to use Substitute, but soon realised that although he spoke no one could hear him.

"Aiden, are you okay?" he heard Leila asking worriedly.

Even using his psychic connection between the two bodies he could not force his voice to depart from its body. He gawped, looking unintelligent, before Aiden took a detour and forced his physical body to nod in understanding. Leila continued to look at him worriedly, while Aiden focused on making his puppet's movements less wooden. Drake watched, both perplexed and amused, and hissed hushed words to Madeline, who remained quietly at his side.

"He used Substitute. When a Pokémon uses this there is a replacement Pokémon to take the damage, and yet I see there is no replacement for Aiden. I only see that the two are acting… rather strangely to say the least… Do you have any idea what went on?"

Madeline studied them some more quietly, before something in her mind clicked. "Well, they're acting much differently, and all I could guess is that they each substituted their body for the other body. So Aiden is in Leila's body… or something like that?"

Drake mulled this over for a moment, and sighed. "It makes sense," Drake agreed, unknowing his facts were wrong, "so I suppose that's the theory we'll stick with for now… Ah well, let's go up a notch if you wouldn't mind. Send out another Pokémon please, Madeline. This time you can control it, and if you would like to regain control of your Ariados I would be most pleased. Things are gonna get a little nasty now…"

Hand on her belt, she seized a Poké Ball and sent it flying to hit the ground behind Absol, where a flash of light subsided to reveal a Drifblim once more. Following suit, Drake unhooked a Ball from his belt and sent it rolling into the sand, releasing a green Pokémon with huge red eyes, flapping its diamond shaped wings excitedly. The Flygon snorted and cold air exploded from its nostrils, blowing the sand it had landed in into Aiden and Leila's eyes. Leila coughed and spluttered as Aiden remained still, his spirit floating aimlessly above to predetermine the next move. He had a certain feeling of doubt scratching at the walls of his insides; he knew that after two attacks he would be dead, or near to it. Was it really worth fighting anymore?

"Shadow Ball!" Drake yelled at the Absol, who nodded to say it understood. Casting its head back, black waves of static energy crept up its horn, gathering at the very tip. Faster and faster the energy rose, creating a dark ball on the tip. Jumping up, the Absol slammed its horn into the hard ground, sending the energy spinning, questionably out of control but still targeting Aiden's and Leila's bodies. Far above the scene, Aiden only remembered to guide his body out of the way at the very last moment. His breathing rate increased as he savoured what could be his last minutes alive. The Absol had again attacked, and one more would contribute to Aiden's, and Leila's, death.

Behind him he heard Sid wheezing, Noel grunting "Recover" over and over again to get no response, and Lydia, Raven and Brooke weeping into each other. In front of him Leila was telling his 'substitute' to "snap out of it". Closing his eyes, he mentally took note of the pitch and emotion in every syllable each person pronounced. He would miss them dearly.

Death. It was coming for him now. He joked about it and he thought he was brave enough to seek it, but like when he was in the hole being attacked by Honchkrow and the Fearow he couldn't face death. It couldn't come collect him after only fifteen years of his life. That would be inhumane. Aiden began questioning if death was ever humane to begin with?

Fighting was futile, he had decided. As long as Aiden made his mark as was remembered for what he had done he would be happy.

But he knew that there would always be one thing that haunted him. Death stood beside him, scythe hooked around his neck and asking for any last words. And still Aiden couldn't find the courage to confess…

Even if the willpower was rediscovered he couldn't confess. He had been substituted and his words were mute to those around him. But an idea had caught him unaware, as he effortlessly glided over to the tree Sid was propped up against. "Iron Claw," Aiden murmured as his nails extended, showing a silver sheen. Digging one nail into the bark of the tree, he pulled downwards, scoring the tree, and ultimately surprised that as what he thought was a spirit he could do physical damage. Carving names and shapes into the tree, he took a step back to admire his work. Aiden knew that any survivors were bound to check out any trees that had not been burnt, and as he had especially inscribed his message onto the tree his secret was out and anyone who cared could know.

"Aiden," he read, tracing his index finger across his scratchy lettering. Next he felt the shakily drawn heart, and the second word that lay underneath it: "Leila". With a solemn smile, he drifted forward slightly, just in front of Sid, Noel and the girls. Leila was debating heatedly with Drake once more, but as soon as Aiden's attention was set on the battle Madeline interrupted.

"Drifblim use Body Slam while Ariados uses Flash!"

The long legged Pokémon concentrated, before emitting a heart-wrenching screech. As the volume increased, the light dazzled Leila, while Aiden's decoy remained emotionless. While Leila blinded, the Drifblim sped towards them, turning as it went. It crashed clumsily into Leila, who fell onto Aiden. With a slight blush Leila rose to Drake's jeering comments, while Aiden commanded his body to move. The light dimmed and Ariados stopped shrieking, leaving Drake cackling in glee.

"And Flygon! Iron Tail!" Drake laughed, obviously enjoying himself, before adding, "Oh, make sure you hit the boy though! Leave the girl for the time being!"

Soaring upwards, it twisted elegantly as its tail vibrated and glimmered metallic grey. Diving sharply, it swung itself around once more, and the heavy tail collided with the back of Aiden's knees, causing them to buckle as he fell to the floor. Aiden hesitated before making his body stand up, and realised that Drake would most probably be using Absol to attack next. This could be Aiden's last minute alive, and finally, truly and silently tears began to fall, unstoppable.

Hovering in front of Leila's fearful figure, he lingered, and then put a finger to her cheekbone. However, he was shocked to discover that unlike the tree trunk Leila could not be touched. Whether being substituted diminished any communication or if Leila was just special, Aiden was saddened by the fact, but pressed on anyways. Timid at first, he inclined slightly, and softly pushed his lips onto hers, lingering for a second while debating if to take it further, before pulling away, ashamed. He sulked into the shadows, drifting back towards Sid and the others while Leila stood still, swearing that she felt sincere affection touching her, and a light tickling sensation on her lips. Licking them to keep them moist, she inhaled deeply; taking in a lungful of air that the Absol's next move may deprive her of forever more.

"Absol…" Drake sneered, and the wolf-like creature turned to face him, "Show them your-"

_Beep. Beep. Beep._ Leila sighed, relieved, until she figured out what the beeps represented.

Drake smiled. "I'm glad I didn't kill you so soon," he mused, "I'd like you to see this." He stared at his Pokétch, before saying "Dialga and Palkia have exactly… forty three seconds to live. And I'm sure you'd love to see your legendary pals dying…"

"Quick," Sid began, voice hoarse but eyes flung open, looking at Noel, "what are Palkia's and Dialga's signature moves?" To his dismay Noel was now unconscious, worn and tired and sprawled on the ground.

Sid groaned as Drake read "thirty seconds", and turned to Lydia, Brooke and Raven. "Hey Girlies, do you know the signature moves of Palkia or Dialga?"

Brooke looked thoughtful for a moment, "Dialga is the time one… right?"

Tenderly, Sid nodded while Raven shouted "Time! Time something! Something time!"

"It rings a bell…" Sid said as Drake began counting from seventeen, "But what's the something!"

"Roar of Time?" Aiden answered, wondering why Sid wanted to know. Of course his answer wasn't heard.

"Eleven seconds, here's the countdown!" Drake announced happily, "Ten, nine-"

"Time…" Sid was repeating furiously, determined to recall the name of the attack.

"Eight, seven, six-"

"Time! Time, time, time!"

"Five, four-"

"Roar!" Lydia shouted, finding similarity in how 'four' and 'roar' rhymed, "Roar of Time!"

"Roar of Time!" Sid echoed, as his voice became suddenly distorted and low in pitch, as Aiden realised he had been biding energy all this time. The ground rumbled perilously, and Leila gasped in shock. Since Dialga had not yet been killed, its abilities were of use. Sid's mouth mutated horrifically, growing larger until the air he exhaled was a supernatural blue. The colour lurched for a moment, before becoming all the brighter as a horizontal shaft appeared amongst it, heading straight for Drake. Ungracefully, he slid and rolled under the beam, dodging the attack. This light had swallowed neither Leila's body, nor Aiden's, but something else had been. Aiden's spirit tumbled through the neon glow, limbs flailing.

"Quick! Absol! Slash Aiden!" Drake called to his Pokémon, but before it could finish its charge to reach the target it fell to the floor, defeated, Perish Song having taken its toll. Likewise, all of Ariados' legs wobbled as its huge abdomen hit the ground. Raphael gagged helplessly before falling silent, Aiden's body merely dropped, while Leila clutched where her heart lay before hitting the ground, cries shrill and tearful, carrying on way after she hit the floor. Eyes set on the girl he had adored; Aiden swore he saw a small sunburst. A ghost? A spirit?

Or was he just in denial? She was dead, and he knew it. She could never come back and that simple thought brought tears streaming down his face, anything but silent now. His heavy breathes echoed in his own mind as he slaughtered all his wildest dreams. It was neither a ghost nor a spirit. His mind was tricking him. He wanted to believe Leila would be back. But in reality she could never come back.

"Swift Flygon!" Drake ordered, pointing at Sid. The mystic Pokémon grunted and sent a flurry of star shaped objects towards Sid, as they hit him squarely in the neck. His head became heavy, and caused a lack of balance to his body as he slumped against the tree, causing the girls to scream.

Due to this, the Time of Roar was due to end. Twisting in an abyss of eye-straining blue, Aiden was compressed, still crying, as the blue aura shrunk, travelling elsewhere. Hyperventilating, Aiden looked around frantically at the world he had lived in, and wondered what, if anything, lay ahead of him.

The cries of Leila still ringing in his ears, he attempted to breathe in deeply, but failed. Resting afloat, he let his body surrender, breathing heavily and spinning frantically until his stomach knotted and his surroundings spun out of control and were altered completely.

Through shock, depression and questioningly travelling at extreme speeds, Aiden fell unconscious, enveloped in black.


	4. I'm Stuck In A Coma Stuck In A Never

ஐ ▪**D i e . R o m a n t i c **_**▪ **_ஐ  
_This Is The Nightmare We Die Complete  
_-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦ _author's note_ ◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦  
_**Happy birthday to Just-Another-Meaningless-Soul! xD Hope you have a great day – gawd knows you deserve it. :)  
**_**  
**_-celebrateswithnewcharacters-_  
In other news, the story takes quite a turn from this point & this chapter isn't the most exciting. (N) What it is, though, is /crucial/. Some of you may not fully understand what's happened, & some of you won't agree with the hair colour of some characters – but this is written as if performed like the animé so I hold rights to give people shockingly different coloured hair & eyes. :D _You can flame me if it's that bad._ I'd like to add a second dedication alongside Just-Another-Meaningless-Soul; the gorgeous _**Lolita of The Damned**_ is fully deserving of your praise & consideration. ;) Enjoy if you can, kthnx.

◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦ _replies_ ◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦  
**Lolita of The Damned**; A _**huge**_ thank you to my newest reviewer!! The updates for this story do happen to be a little random & inconsistent, so firstly cheers for alerting this. :) _My paragraphs are naturally long, somewhat like how I can't write short chapters_. :S Thanks for pointing out how long they were getting though; I'll try & correct that this chapter but it was prewritten & I dunno if I feel like much proofreading, & I tend to get carried away anyways. xP **How Drake lost his powers**, _the organisation Drake & Madeline are in_, & the welfare of Aiden, Leila, Palkia etc. will be discussed in later chapters – your mind isn't like a sieve, I just didn't add in details as such. :P  
**Thank you.** Thank you ever so much for your kind words. (Y) xD

**Just-Another-Meaningless-Soul**; _Many happy returns_ & sincere thanks for the **fat ass** review! xD Made me smile so much, & being my ill self that was _grrreatly_ appreciated. :D Firstly, thank you for being so considerate & patient while I've been away – _but someone told me it was 'cause of me you broke your phone!_ That better not be true. :'( I'm so sorry!  
Thanks for your correction – you're right & I've edited it now – & yes, we all know Raphael is Dale Winton in disguise. :P  
_It's good to see people are picking up on the right sort of details – who's the real villain etc. _The relationship between Drake & Leila will be a, hopefully, intense topic for far, far away chapters – I'm not giving anything away just yet though, but I do love to hear your theories on… well… anything. **& gutted! You caught my Pirates of the Caribbean reference. :P **I watch that film too much… :S

**Other Readers**; I hope you're enjoying so far. :) Remember, _all feedback is returned._

◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦ _disclaimer_ ◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦  
Pokémon – _not mine_. Song "Die Romantic" – _**not mine**_. Song "Can't Be Saved" – _**amazing!!**_ ((_Yet not mine._)) Why do you keep reminding me of such sad news!? Dx

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  
_**C**_**hapter **_**o**_**o4:  
**_**I'm Stuck In A Coma; Stuck In A Never-Ending Sleep  
**__Someday I will wake up & realise I've made up everything…_

Aiden could have sworn that Dialga and Palkia had already been killed, and yet still encased in a cold, black world, Drake approached him, Pokétch beeping teasingly. He was smirking evilly, blue locks of hair waving in a wind that didn't seem to grace Aiden's skin.

Aiden looked intrusively at the Pokétch wrapped round Drake's wrist, and upon feeling the intrigued stare Drake ripped off the device and handed it to Aiden, winking before evaporating into the darkness of his surroundings. As frustrated as ever, Aiden merely stared at the spot where Drake once stood. In this cold, black world Aiden had seen many a strange event.

Averting his attention back to the beeping device, he turned it around in his hands. It seemed so much simpler than the last time he saw it, but he dismissed this. All he was interested in was what the beeping meant. Dialga and Palkia were dead already. Maybe the government were about to kill off other legendary Pokémon. Celebi, or Entei, or even Aiden's personal favourite, Articuno.

_Beep._

He turned the watch over in his hands, staring at the blank screen.

_Beep._

The beeping was getting more intense, but nothing was showing on the screen. No pictures. No text. Nothing. Nothing to show what the beeping corresponded to.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

But then, almost against his will he raised the Pokétch to his ear. Maybe he wasn't meant to see. Maybe he was meant to listen. Maybe the beeping would tell him something.

_Beep._

The beeping was urgent and getting louder. Aiden knew it was important, but at the same time he couldn't get to the information.

_Beep. Beep._

It was giving him a headache. The noise was infuriating, but Aiden had to persist. Something was on the line, but he didn't know what. Did he even care? He couldn't concentrate anymore. The beeping pulsated throughout his fragile mind, reverberating off the frail walls until he could take it no longer. He shut his eyes as the beeps got louder and louder.

And suddenly they were much less frequent, and more natural. Still there, and audible, but quieter, and relaxing. Aiden might've even described them as reassuring. He felt almost alive once more. The darkness remained, but the cold had dispersed, and warmth had found him and embraced him fully.

A heavy weight rested on his chest, mimicking the pressure Aiden had once felt on his heart that night that was neither recent nor faraway where he lost the only girl he had ever thought of spending the rest of his life with. The only difference was the pain had vanished, whether it was because he was numb, or anything that could've hurt him had already passed, or if this weight just wasn't meant to hurt, he did not know. It was a kind of comfortable weight, ensuring he felt his heartbeat beating through his surroundings, matching the light beeping in the background…

_The beeping._

Eyes shooting open, light flooded into his pupils, rendering him helpless with the unfamiliar reassurance he had craved for the short millennia he'd spent in darkness. Sitting bolt upright, a duvet fell back onto the bed, while something far more delicate slipped from his hand. He looked to his left, where the horribly bright white wall contrasted with the black box alongside the bed that he rested upon, beeping slowly with green flashes blinking across the screen, proving that he still lived. Through the Perish Song, and the Roar of Time and the countless other attacks he had been put at the mercy of, he had lived, and the beeping was the reflection of his life. His steady heartbeat.

Whatever had dropped from his hand hit the mattress softly, and a slight groan was muttered from his right. Turning to face the source, he eyed a weary girl as she lifted the hand that had dropped from his own to the mattress and rubbed her eyes which sleep had glued shut. Blinking away tiredness, the girl stirred slightly in her wicker chair, stretched and finally opened a pair of lilac eyes. Raising them so they met Aiden's inquisitive stare, she froze, lip twitching, before she screamed happily, and her eyes became moist. Shocked, Aiden's eyes widened as he sunk further into the bed, as he was smothered by the girl's ebony hair and almost suffocated by the tight hug she forced upon him.

"Reuben!" the girl was squealing, voice layered quickly with relief, "Reuben, it's been so long!"

_Reuben?_ Aiden didn't understand. He wanted to say something, but found himself lost for words, and so his mouth was left pointlessly gaping.

When the girl pulled back, she held onto Aiden's shoulders, surveying him from a distance. Catching his uneasy stare, she pursed her lips and asked in an almost hurt tone: "What is it Reuben? Don't remember your big sister Alexis?"

"Who's Reuben?" he got straight to the point, but noticed his voice quivered as soon as he realised it had became deeper than what he had previously remembered. Shrugging it off, he looked back at his 'sister', awaiting an answer.

"Wh-what do you mean 'who's Reuben'? You're Reuben of course. You- I mea- Er…" She raised her arms up and flopped them down as if to say she gave up, before reaching for the clipboard that hung from the front of his bed. Flipping over a page, she read a few lines before placing a long fingernail on the paper and displaying it to Aiden.

He read the line she'd been pointing to. "Name: Reuben Aki Hart" he read out loud in his changed voice, and looked at Alexis, "Is this some kind of joke?"

"What do you mean?" Alexis questioned, perplexed by her brother's attitude.

"I'm not Reuben! My name's Aiden, and from what I know I never had a sister. And what on earth am I doing here anyways?"

"Aiden? No! You're my little brother Reuben. You're in hospital. You have been for just under three years now. You were in a coma."

"What?" Aiden yelled, "That Roar of Time put my in a coma? How's Leila? Oh, and Sid and Noel and the girls? How are they?"

Alexis merely stared at him blankly. "Ex-excuse me? What are you on about?" She looked deeply concerned, and nibbled on her thin bottom lip as if scared to deal with him.

"I-" he started, but paused, raising a slender hand to caress his throat. His voice was unnaturally deep and it disturbed him greatly. He muttered undistinguishable words under his breath, trying to comprehend why his voice had changed so much. Frustrated, he grunted, and ran his fingers through his hair, expecting to feel his long, coarse hair, but instead grasping at thinner, shorter locks. Eyes wide open in shock, he opened his mouth again, looking straight ahead and murmuring fragments of thoughts.

"R-Reuben? You okay?" Alexis questioned, eyes moister still, and hands clutching the duvet.

"Er… please get me a mirror? Please?" Aiden croaked, distracted, and fearing what he might see.

Eyebrow raised, Alexis reached for a simplistic black handbag placed at the leg of her seat. Rummaging through, she pulled her hand out after several seconds of frantic searching, retrieving a silver hand mirror. Passing it to Aiden, he held it uncertainly with quivering fingers, and slowly raised it to his face, before dropping it hastily, disbelieving what he saw.

Alexis flinched as the mirror clattered on the tiled floor, swearing bitterly and handing it back to Aiden, before plunging into her bag once more to fetch a nail file, perfecting the shape of her nails. Now knowing what to expect, Aiden raised the mirror and flipped his hair to make sure it was not a hoax. Leaning it, he studied his eyes in more detail, and finally opened his mouth, noticing even the smallest differences like the disappearance of his extra pair of canine teeth.

Holding the mirror out at an arm's length, he blew upwards to remove stray strands from his light bangs from his eyes. Combing his hair with his fingers once more, he stared at the intense pink, and almost natural-looking, colour of it with his contrasting, piercing, olive green eyes. He felt that they complimented each other nicely. But still, they were not his own.

"This isn't real…" he said, still staring at the mirror.

"What isn't?" Alexis replied curiously, removing the mirror from his obsessive stare.

"This isn't!" Aiden snapped harshly, "All of it! You've changed my name and coloured my hair and eyes and shaped my teeth and fed me lies!" He weaved his story, thinking it naïve but finding no other alternate, "Or… something…"

Alexis looked at him, corners of her mouth tipped upwards as if trying to stifle laughter. "Seriously Reuben, don't you thi-"

"I'm not Reuben!" he shouted, silencing Alexis completely. Aiden sighed.

"Well listen, _Aiden_. If you want to believe in your silly little dream world you concocted in these three years you haven't seen the same family that has been worried sick about you every single day, go ahead. But I'd have thought you'd have more sense by now, and a bit of a better heart. How's mom and dad gonna cope when they realise their only son is a _nutcase_." She hissed the last word for emphasis, and packed her mirror and nail file back into her handbag.

_A dream world?_ Is that what had happened to Aiden? He'd made up a three-year long fantasy about best friends being killed? It couldn't be; it was all so real. But… then what had happened? Why the sudden change now? Aiden… or Reuben… was hesitant to believe he had imagined all of the flaws in the world, but what if Alexis spoke the truth? What if he really was this poor little boy caught in a coma that should be running back into the arms of his family, who may just think he was in need of psychiatric help?

Alexis was making her way to the door when Aiden spoke up. "Wait," he said, not in a commanding manner, but in a more pleading tone. She turned round expectantly, facing her apparent brother. "It's been three years…" Aiden managed, looking up and her and smiling, "I… might've forgotten… Tell me about myself?" Aiden flashed a small smile.

Beyond confusion, Alexis slowly lowered herself onto the chair once more, thinking about what to say.

"Well," she started, "I'm… I'm not really sure where to begin. You're Reuben Aki Hart if you hadn't guessed. You're currently… fifteen? Yes, fifteen. You went into a coma at age twelve. Mom and Dad got so paranoid; they called me off of my Pokémon journey for a whole year. Was a shame – I was supposed to be competing in the Johto League Silver Conference that year. But oh well. It obvi-"

"Sorry to interrupt," Aiden said without an ounce of sincere apology present in his tone, "but you didn't say… how did I fall into a coma? Randomly? Or… was I in an accident?"

Looking slightly disappointed with being interrupted, Alexis thought about the question at hand before beginning to answer it. "Well… from what I remember Mom and Dad were finally losing their battle with you to keep you from going on your own Pokémon adventure – you know how overprotective they are – but they were showing you around the local domestic Pokémon shop, in hopes you'd stay home but have a Pokémon as a pet instead. Of course, your natural love for dogs attracted you to the Growlithe they had for sale, but Mom said no because of that time our old house caught fire. Anyways, you apparently went to look at the Electrike next. Now the Electrike was still going through training, and you went to stroke it but it shocked you in defence. The electricity was enough to send you into a state of coma, but the doctor says you were lucky it wasn't severe paralysis. And that brings us up to date I believe…"

"And… where am I now?" he asked, staring obsessively at the white walls behind Alexis' head, "What hospital?"

"Autailya Town's hospital. That's the in the region of…"

"Kairsen" he finished her sentence, having heard all about Autailya Town. Things may have changed – but he was still in a familiar region. "And why exactly did Mom and Dad stop your journey?" Aiden pressed.

Suddenly Alexis gasped as both her hands slapped her mouth. "They don't know you're conscious!" she squealed through the gaps between her fingers. "I have to phone them!"

Picking up her handbag, she darted to the doorway, only spinning around to say a rushed "goodbye Reuben".

"Sis!" Aiden called, hoping to catch her before she steamed down the ward.

Backtracking, she popped her head round the doorway and looked expectant.

"Please don't call me Reuben yet. I know it's my name and all, but I'd much rather be Aiden for now. It just… seems more familiar to me now… I dunno…" He lowered his eyes to his duvet, not catching the look of exasperation of Alexis' face.

"Alright…" she agreed half-heartedly, "Goodbye Aiden."

His heart lifted at the sound of his old name, and he stared around, as if anticipating Leila, Noel, Sid, Raven, Brooke or Lydia to appear. Accepting defeat as he saw none of them, he turned his head just to see Alexis move out of the doorframe. Leaning back, he rested into his pillow, a small smile plastered on his face.

◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦

A bell chimed as the automatic door slid open, allowing a pleasant summer breeze to carry in two teenagers. Three silhouettes remained in the background, and friendlily gestured goodbye to the other two before sinking into the adjoining forest by taking the seaside route. Watching their friends slowly fade into the backdrop, the teenagers – one girl and one boy – inhaled deeply, before striding purposefully to the queue to the counter.

Craning her neck, the girl scanned behind the desk with jade-coloured eyes to see a nurse with splendid candyfloss pink hair step from a machine with a tray of Poké Balls. A round Pokémon, whose skin faded from pink to white, had an abnormally large and luscious-looking egg in its pouch, and downy ear-like features protruding from the top of its head as well as a skirt-like addition to its lower part of the body, followed the Nurse obediently. "Gregory Parry?" she shouted over the din of her surroundings, summoning a rather rotund man from the line. The nurse spoke to the man with an honest smile, and the man laughed rather uneasily as if she had lightly scolded him. Displaying his thanks with a melodramatic handshake, the man sped out of the building looking slightly embarrassed. The girl watched the man escape, and then looked back towards the counter, jumping slightly when a hand found her shoulder.

She swivelled her head to see it was her accomplice, and she relaxed considerably. Both were nervous, but they had accepted that it was their turn and took it as a chance to prove themselves. Through medium length brown hair it was possible to see the smile that adorned his face and the equally content mood settling in his blue eyes as he made a silent motion as if to tell her to zip up her coat.

The girl stared down at her clothing and realised the zip had slipped down slightly. Beneath her heavy coat that she wore despite the weather was a t-shirt, coloured black with a large purple shape on it. "I don't know why we have to wear these shirts!" the girl hissed under her breath as she pulled the zipper upwards to hide it, being careful not to trap her own beautiful blonde hair. The boy shook his head in response, and then checked his own coat. All his buttons were fastened, right up to his neck, as to hide the t-shirt he also wore underneath decorated with the same design but in black and royal blue. He adjusted his gear slightly, taking the straps from his spacious yet empty backpack and heaving them upwards. Straightening up, the girl sighed and looked at her friend. "Thanks Sacha."

"It's alright Becky," he replied, draping his arm over her shoulders to support her, aware of how nervous she was. Hugging her own waist, she felt the bump where her trainer belt was positioned, holding onto the single Poké Ball through the material of her jacket. Much like Becky, Sacha only had one Pokémon, but had four Poké Balls on his belt, three being empty.

Soon the line had thinned, and Becky and Sacha had found themselves at the front of the queue. The pink-haired nurse greeted them enthusiastically: "Good afternoon! My name is Nurse Joy and this is the Autailya Town Pokémon Centre and joint hospital! How may I help you?"

Breathing heavy, Becky felt her heart beating out of time in fear. Her eyes swivelled from Nurse Joy's eager face to look up to Sacha's, whose eyes were already upon her. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Sacha looked at the curious Nurse. "We're here to see…" he lowered his voice to a whisper, causing Nurse Joy to lean in, "we're here to see Ryan Patterson…"

The Nurse straightened up and beamed, and walked over to her silver filing cabinet, pulling out a folder, "Okay. I'll need to check the records to confirm that he's in the building bu-"

"He's not going to be in the records!" Becky interrupted suddenly, and then lowered her gaze to the floor. The folder slipped a few inches in Nurse Joy's fingertips, but stayed within her grasp.

"Excuse me Miss but all patients are listed unless in spec-" the Nurse started, but stopped once seeing tears form in Becky's eyes.

"What she means," explained Sacha, "is that Ryan Patterson was submitted to the protected ward. He was transported from another hospital, and they told us it was recent. When we got in contact with them they said he had arrived today."

"Ah, the protected ward? This man's a target so they need to keep his whereabouts unknown? Okay…" Nurse Joy asked, chewing on the inside of her cheek whilst thinking back.

At the word 'target', Becky started weeping piteously. Sacha, seeing this, sighed, wrapped his arms around her and withdrew two tissues, handing one to Becky who whimpered into it. She had been perfecting her fake tears for what seemed like an age, but was still shocked to see how easy they came, and the realisation caused her to cry more. Sacha raised his own tissue to his mouth, hiding his smirk behind it with closed eyes, amused by how easily fooled the Nurse was, but pretending to be in distress.

Taken aback by Becky's tears, the Nurse placed a dainty hand on Becky's shoulder but Becky harshly shrugged it off. Understanding Becky's feelings, but frowning nonetheless, the Nurse licked her lips. "We've had eight admittances to the top floor this past week – almost a record I believe. Only three have been unlisted or protected and Officer Jenny has been in regularly as we think that the attacks may have been related." Sacha removed the tissue, smile pulled upside down. Even Becky stopped crying for a moment. They couldn't risk the police being involved.

"The police aren't in right now, are they?" Sacha asked, nudging Becky so she forced more tears, "It's just we live far away from Autailya Town… we live far away from this region! We're from Goldenrod City in Johto, and we wanted to visit him today. That's probably not very practical if the police are running around…"

"Officer Jenny and her forces aren't currently in, but will be appearing later this evening… I'm not sure what time… Also, are you aware that only immediate family may visit unlisted patients?"

"Yes, we're both his children," Sacha lied in reply, "Matthew Patterson and Lily Patterson. Here… we have ID..." Casting his hand into his pocket, he extracted a slender Pokédex, red paint ebbing off as if it had been rained on too much, and flipped it open, handing it to Nurse Joy. Tears still present in her eyes, Becky retrieved a Pokédex from her own pocket, and shakily placed it into Nurse Joy's hands, unconfident that their disguises would fool her. The boss himself had hacked and edited the Pokédexes so that when the Pokédex was made to show the owner's picture and list their details it called them Matthew Jonas Patterson and Lily Flora Patterson from Goldenrod City, instead of Sacha Garrett and Rebecca Westwood from Fyrinsia City and Quayre City respectively.

Tapping buttons with her manicured nails, she watched the screen of Becky's Pokédex curiously as it recited "Lily Flora Patterson of Goldenrod City. Started Pokémon journey at age eleven, on the 18th February 2003." Smiling, the nurse handed back the Pokédex to the still crying Becky, and opened Sacha's, pressing the exact same buttons she had before. "Matthew Jamie Patterson of Goldenrod City. Started Pokémon journey at age ten, on the 25th…" the Pokédex hesitated for a moment, "August 2002." Nurse Joy frowned for a moment, as Sacha tensed.

The Nurse gradually closed the Pokédex and handed it back. "You ought to get your Pokédex checked out, it seems a little jumpy after your adventures…" She smiled sweetly, and Sacha relaxed, having not been found out. He smiled and took the Pokédex back, relieved.

Still unnerved by Becky's constant crying, the Nurse pressed on. "But there is bad news. Only one visitor is allowed at one time, so I'll have to leave one of you behind…"

Becky sniffed, and turned her head to face Sacha. "What are we going to do?" she wailed, but with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Her eyes glimmered and her face was flushed, but it was fake and Sacha couldn't help but stifle a chuckle.

"It's okay… you see him first. I'll get my Pokémon healed and see him a bit later." He turned to Nurse Joy, "Would that be alright?"

She nodded, stepped through the door that was part of the counter, and closed it after her. "Blissey? Chansey? I'll be gone for a few minutes while I show this young lady to her father's ward. While I'm gone could I ask you to heal Matthew's Pokémon, as well as the others' in the queue?"

"Chansey, chansey," nodded another round pink Pokémon, darker pink growths from its head bobbing rhythmically up and down as it agreed, rubbing its egg at the same time. The pink and white Pokémon that had followed Nurse Joy around before nodded also, revealing that this must be a Blissey.

Unsure, Nurse Joy turned to face Sacha who had been watching the Chansey and Blissey intently. "Sorry if this is asking too much," she started, catching Sacha's attention, "but can you keep an eye out for them? You know what kind of people there are out there… the kind that steal other's Pokémon and whatever else." Nurse Joy shuddered, as if reliving a painful memory, "Despicable. Truly despicable. And who knows if one of those people are in the queue right now, ready to take advantage of the nursing Pokémon!"

Sacha listened and nodded, disallowing himself to smile. He couldn't give it away so soon. "Of course, Nurse Joy. I understand." He backed up against the counter and pushed his body up so that he was sitting on top of the counter. The Nurse surveyed him for a moment, hesitant to trust him so soon and give him so much responsibility. It was only when a man in the line voiced his opinion ("Oh, I wish they'd hurry up…" receiving a few laughs from the rest of the crowd at what was obviously intended to be a private thought) that she left, pushing a large button so that a pair of automatic doors swung open, leading the way for Becky. Over her shoulder, Becky shot one fleeting look and winked. Sacha grinned. Phase one had gone considerably well.

"Bliss?" one of the four Blissey placed a tray on the counter and nudged Sacha's thigh with it. Looking down, Sacha nodded in understanding and unclipped two empty Poké Balls from his belt, placing them in two of the six moulds in the tray. Since the Poké Balls were empty what was inside them could not be healed, and therefore the Blissey would encounter an error, wondering why the machine could not heal these Pokémon. "Blissey!" the Pokémon chanted, and waddled away to one of the eight machines.

Poised and ready, he watched the Blissey as it slotted the tray into the machine and poked various buttons with its small arms. Only barely aware of the trainers drawing nearer to the counter and asking for their Pokémon to be healed, he eyed the Blissey as its face contorted from one of goodwill to one of frustration. Sacha looked back at the queue, knowing the Blissey would contact him soon.

"Sey! Blissey, blissey!" he heard from afar, but coming closer. After being prodding in the small of his back, he turned round to face the inquisitive Blissey, who motioned for him to follow. Sweeping his legs around, he slid off the counter and onto the opposite side amongst the multiple Chansey and Blissey. Following the Pokémon to the machine, he scanned the screen on the side of it, where in red blazing letters it said: "ERROR". Sacha smiled.

Pushing another button, the Poké Balls were ejected and the Blissey left them out for a few seconds before replacing them, and pushing the same sequence of buttons as it did to primarily heal them. The machine shuddered violently for a moment, before the same five letters flickered upon the screen again. "Blissey…" the Pokémon moaned, before ejecting the Poké Balls again and bending over to retrieve an "Out of Order" sign from the floor.

"Uh… er… wait!" Sacha exclaimed, reattaching the Poké Balls back to his belt and taking the sign out of the Blissey's grasp and replacing it on the floor, "Wouldn't you rather I got some other Poké Balls first? Maybe there's something wrong with the Poké Balls… not the machine!"

The Blissey appeared to frown for a moment, but cautiously nodded.

"O-okay then," he replied, and looked around, "Er… where's the storage room?"

Blinking, the Blissey pointed to a plastic door, painted finely with white. Sacha advanced to the door, but the Blissey stopped him momentarily, waving its left arm slowly. He watched the strange movement closely before attempting to decipher what it meant. "You want me to only take a Poké Ball from the left side?" he asked.

"Bliss!" the Pokémon said, jumping up and down as if to say yes.

"Alright then," he said, before edging his way into the storage room.

It was considerably smaller than he expected, but contained enough Poké Balls to fully arm a small town. The storage room was used to keep Pokémon who had not yet been collected by their trainers, who were stored on the left shelves of the room, and Pokémon who needed repetitive treatment, who were stored on the right. Making a few quick estimations, Sacha guessed there were fifteen shelves, all connected by two beams of wood on both sides, with thirty Poké Balls on each shelf, on the left side of the room. Even if each Pokémon was only worth a dollar each, that'd still be four hundred and fifty dollars, and surely there would be some stronger or rare Pokémon thrown in with the weak.

Slipping his backpack of his back, he reached for the only occupied Poké Ball on his belt, pressing the button to release the creature within. As the white light burned out, the small Pokémon shook itself to loosen its muscles, its green spots on its turquoise skin becoming blurred with the speed it shook. Its large bulb on its back seemed to expand a bit, as the Pokémon looked up at Sacha with its amiable red eyes and opened its friendly mouth to uncover two small teeth. "Bulba!" it croaked excitedly, as Sacha kneeled beside it to stroke its head.

"Bulbasaur, I need you to help me with these shelves please?" he asked, standing up, "Can you use your vines to lift up the shelves by the bottom of the wooden beams, and tilt the shelves slightly in my direction?"

Bulbasaur looked questioningly at the shelves for a moment, before two vines emerged from either side of its pulsating bulb. They found the beams effortlessly, and Bulbasaur gave a quick push, just to check if it had enough strength to lift them. Feeling the shelves jump up and land, shaking hazardously, the Bulbasaur looked back to Sacha grinning, and nodding vigorously. Sacha smiled at the Pokémon and patted its head once more. Positioning himself at the other end of the shelves, he held his bag so hopefully all the Poké Balls would topple into it.

"Alright, Bulbasaur! Do it now!" he called, as the vines found the beams and Bulbasaur growled with the strain. One by one, the Poké Balls rolled down the newly made slope, mostly falling into the bag although a few fell elsewhere. When the shelves were near empty, he commanded Bulbasaur to put the shelves down, and to grab any stray Poké Balls from the shelves while he picked up the stray ones on the floor. Gladly Bulbasaur did so, and soon the whole of the left shelves as well as the floor was bare. Sacha zipped up the bag and looked fondly at his work.

"I need you to guard the bag for a bit, okay? I suggest you also hide behind the right shelves, just in case a Blissey or a Chansey walks in" he said, unclipping his third empty Poké Ball, "I won't be long. Just while I persuade the Blissey the machine really is messed up…"

"Sauuur," Bulbasaur growled in agreement, as it wrapped its one vine around the bag protectively.

"But first…" Sacha pulled his jacket sleeve up to uncover his Pokétch, searching the address book for Becky's number, calling it and letting it ring twice before hanging up: the signal to pull out. Pulling his sleeve back down, he walked back to the counter.

◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦

"I just need to enter the code for this door, so no looking please," Nurse Joy commented, after making it to the top floor, but Becky wasn't looking anyway. Mindlessly, her hands were scrambling for her wrist where her Pokétch was, which had been on vibrate. She had felt the signal.

"Er… Nurse Joy? I kinda feel sick now… Can I just nip to the bathroom first? I really don't want my Dad to see me like this," Becky excused herself, sprinting down the hallway, not even waiting for a reply.

Bleakly, the Nurse looked back, slightly impatient. "But it's on the second floor!" she called down the corridor.

"I'll be quick! I promise!" Becky yelled back, adrenaline creeping up the back of her throat, excitement thick on her taste buds.

Skipping the steps two at a time, she reached the second floor within moments. Already pulling out her Poké Ball to complete her next part of the mission, she emerged through the double doors only to collide nonchalantly with a boy with shocking pink hair. Grunting as he was knocked back, he fell onto what Becky guessed to be his mother as all three hit the floor.

"Oh, sorry!" Becky apologised after picking herself off the floor and dusting off her clothes. She offered a hand to the boy and his mother, and the two accepted, mumbling their own apologies.

The boy stood up, towering over Becky by at least six inches. The mother stood up, while another male figure who Becky understood to be the father held her close. Lurking behind was a raven-haired girl, watching as if amused.

"I'm so, so sorry," Becky repeated, "I really wasn't looking where I was going. I –"

At that exact moment Becky stopped in her tracks, as the boy she had knocked over swung his hair out of his eyes, revealing them to be wise, and green. Frozen, she sought the girl who hid behind the scene, but found the shadows hanging over her as if to guard her. Tightening the grip on her Poké Ball, she twisted her wrist as to change the Ball's position, meaning that the artificial light rebounded off the button on the front of the Poké Ball, and was thrown onto the opposite wall.

Moving her fingers ever so slightly, the spot of light edged nearer to the girl, as Becky traced it over her enchanting black hair, towards her face. The light skimmed the girl's pointed nose as it hit her eyes, and the Ball fell from Becky's grasp. They were the same lilac eyes that had hit her like knives six years ago, and the boy had the same colourful features as the lilac-eyed girl's brother had, all that time ago.

Becky had encountered Alexis Caroline Hart, her parents, and her brother, Robert? Richard?

She leant over to pick up her Poké Ball before straightening up, and looking Aiden in the eye, as if searching for something.

"Reuben," she whispered upon realisation, and rushed down the hallway, not looking back.

The father stared after Becky, mouth twisted as if dazed. "What exactly just happened, Sonia?" he asked his wife.

"Not sure, Toby," she replied, holding onto him tighter.

Alexis observed the girl as she ran, and snorted. "Rebecca Westwood…" she hissed, so no one heard, resisting temptation to run after her.

"She called me Reuben!" Aiden whined once more, provoking the parents to share an exasperated look.

"Honey, you _are_ Reuben," Sonia countered, but her voice withered at her son's icy glare.

"I told you! I _am not_ Reuben!" he growled, "My name is Aiden." Together, Aiden and Alexis had tried to explain the predicament Aiden had found himself in. Aiden had not yet had the patience or the time to explain his beliefs in him having supernatural powers, but he doubted they'd believe him anyway. Also, the siblings had discussed Aiden starting out on his Pokémon journey now that he was fifteen, but his parents had discouraged the idea, wanting Aiden to not bump into any more Electrike. Aiden merely shrugged, and announced he was going anyway, and, after a heated debate, won the argument.

Aiden didn't quite know what to make of his new surroundings; his heart skipped a beat in fright every time he stole a glance at a mirror. It was a shock, but surprisingly not one that sent him spiralling into questioning his sanity. Although he wondered why he felt so apathetic compared to what he thought he should feel, he decided he would feel uncomfortable making too much of a scene about it in front of these people he'd never seen before, yet supposedly knew since the beginning of his life.

If anything, the thought of a new chance excited him, yet he felt guilty because of this. Would he ever again see his beloved friends? The empty crevice carved deep within the warm cave of his chest suggested not, but hope had kept Aiden breathing many a time before, and when such hope was merged with the chance to work alongside Pokémon rather than against him the empty crevice brimmed over with awe and fantasy and a craving that would never be as powerful as his longing for Leila's touch, but was sure to keep him up at nights if he couldn't feed it.

Toby and Sonia sighed, and patted their son on the back softly.

◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦

Finally making it to the girls' toilets, Becky made a mental note to inform Sacha, Kaysie, Rose and Etienne about her run-in with the infamous Alexis Hart and her brother Reuben. The words 'bad' and 'luck' sprang to mind as she recalled the information, and reminded her to complain to Rose about the turn of events.

However, at the present moment she needed to concoct the perfect escape. She enlarged the Poké Ball she had been holding and threw the Poké Ball to the floor.

"Go, Pidgeotto!" she beckoned the bird Pokémon out of its sanctuary, as it landed on Becky's shoulder, squawking in merriment. The brown bird ruffled its feathers, large wings spread, splaying its crest of pink feathers as if they were crumpled ribbons in a bizarre show. Likewise, its five soft tail feathers fanned out, made solely of pink and yellow. Its sharpened talons were smooth and curved, but didn't harm Becky. She ran a solitary finger down its beak, and it quietened itself, waiting for words from its trainer.

Averting her eyes from the Pokémon, she spied several windows positioned above the sinks. She looked at her reflection in the window, pale due to her meeting with Alexis. Her Pidgeotto scratched under its wing with its beak, black-rimmed eyes closed as it cooed.

"Pidgeotto?" she asked quietly, as is crooned in reply, "I need you to crack this window…"

The bird became silent, as it fluttered over to the sinks and perched on the cold-water tap. It stared at its own reflection for a second, tilting its head left, before pecking weakly at the glass. It made a dull noise, which seemed to satisfy the Pidgeotto as it took to the air and pivoted to face the windows. It raised itself to the ceiling before heavily thrusting its right wing downwards in a scythe-like motion, and Becky watched as an oddly distorted current of air hit the window and a jagged crack awoke in its collision. Becky smirked, proud of her Pidgeotto and how it utilised the new move, Air Slash, that it had learnt only days ago.

Hovering midair it slanted its body so its head was leant back, before jerking its head forwards and crashing through the window, shedding shattered glass as it darted into the open sky. Turning around, it returned into the bathroom, cawing happily, as Becky stroked its feathery body. Pidgeotto started pecking at the remains of the cracked window, ensuring there was nothing that could harm them, while Becky prised parts of with her fingers. When the hole in the glass seemed safe enough Becky seated herself on Pidgeotto's back, wrapped her arms loosely round its neck so as to keep herself balanced but not to strangle the bird, and lowered her head as the Pokémon took off through the window and over the peaceful town of Autailya. From such heights, Becky whipped out her Pokétch again, her finger lingering on Sacha's speed dial key before Pidgeotto landed on a nearby tree branch. Content with her hiding place, she pressed the button, listened until it rung thrice, and cancelled the call. With that, she waited for the opportune moment, perched above the Pokémon Centre and hospital doorway.

◦ ˚∙ღ∙˚ ◦

Lounging around the front desk again, Sacha eyed a rather large Torkoal, struggling as it wheezed thin puffs of smoke. A boy who had called himself Lewis Walker placed it on the desk, and a Chansey knocked on its shell, causing the Torkoal to groan slightly.

"Chansey! Chansey, chansey!" it called to some of its peers, who heard and fetched a stretcher from the Emergency Room. Two Chansey hoisted the Torkoal onto the stretcher and wheeled it into Accident and Emergency, while one remained at the desk, asking for the Torkoal's Poké Ball. Upon receiving it, the Chansey tottered to where the others had pushed it along.

That's when he felt it; his Pokétch pulsed. Staring upwards he counted the rings, until it reached three, and stopped abruptly. He smiled, pleased with how quickly Becky had fulfilled her part on her first time. He looked at the shortened queue, and the sudden lack of Chansey and Blissey free from work. No one would notice now. All he had to do was the call Bulbasaur out from the stor-

His Pokétch vibrated once more, and stopped. A single ring. Sacha's eyes widened, as he scoured his arm, hoping it was a text message and not the real thing. But when he stared at the screen it only read "Two Missed Calls" and listed Becky's number both times.

A single ring: the signal that something had gone wrong and he needed to pull out fast. Why and how this could happen on his first mission, he did not know. But he needed to leave sharply.

Hoisting himself up onto the counter, and jumping onto the other side, he turned to face the counter and call out Bulbasaur, when the doors opened to the chiming of bells again. Casting a glance backwards, his breath caught in his throat, as he turned around fully to face what he thought would never happen first time around.


End file.
